State Secretary for Europe Andreja Metelko-Zgombić participated in the General Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on Monday.
The main topic of the meeting was the preparation for the European Council meeting on March 21 and 22, 2024, during which leaders will discuss Ukraine, security and defence, the Middle East, enlargement, external relations, migration, and agriculture. Additionally, the Council discussed the future of Europe and considered steps within the European Semester for the year 2024.
Expressing support for the leaders’ discussion on EU enlargement, Metelko-Zgombić strongly welcomed the recent Commission’s Report following the Conclusions of the European Council of December 2023, which concluded that Bosnia and Herzegovina had achieved the necessary level of compliance and provided a clear recommendation to the Council on opening accession negotiations with the country. Accordingly, Croatia expects that the leaders at the upcoming meeting will open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, emphasized the state secretary. She also highlighted the importance for the European Commission to promptly prepare the negotiating framework and present it to the Council for adoption.
Regarding Ukraine, Metelko-Zgombić emphasized the importance of the agreement reached on the Ukraine Assistance Fund and the EU’s unity in further supporting Ukraine. She highlighted that Croatia will continue to provide comprehensive assistance to Ukraine based on its experiences from the Homeland War.
In the context of the European Defence Industry Strategy, she emphasized the important role of developing small and medium-sized enterprises in the European defence industry and supported strengthening cooperation with the Ukrainian defence industry.
Highlighting the importance of further efforts in combating migrant smuggling, to which Croatia pays special attention, Metelko-Zgombić reported on the launch of the Zebra operational task force, where Croatia, with the support of Europol, was assigned the role of coordinator and includes police officers from Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Germany.
Regarding agriculture, she emphasized the importance of a sustainable agricultural sector not only for European food security but also for the demographic revitalization of rural areas and called for continued work to ensure a predictable and stable implementation framework for the Common Agricultural Policy, as well as the importance of regaining farmers’ trust.
In the discussion on the future of Europe, the Council addressed plans for possible EU reforms in the context of enlargement and other challenges, as well as the priorities of the second Horizon Europe strategic plan. Metelko-Zgombić highlighted how the previous EU crises had made it stronger, and now it is necessary to build on those achievements. This includes further development of the Single Market, investment in the technological development of the EU, which requires investment in human capital. This also includes addressing demographic challenges as a prerequisite for growth, competitiveness, and resilience, as well as preserving the importance of cohesion policy. She also emphasized the importance of communication and public support for enlargement, which is achievable if candidate countries transform and embrace European values and standards during the accession process. She highlighted the important role of the GAC in further discussions and activities.
As part of the regular procedure of the European Semester in March, the Council considered the Consolidated Report on the Council’s contributions regarding the European Semester 2024, prepared by the Belgian Presidency. The Council forwarded to the European Council the Recommendation on the economic policy of the euro area and took note of the Updated European Semester Plan for the year 2024.
At the invitation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament, Metelko-Zgombić, along with representatives of other interested member states, participated in an exchange of views on EU enlargement policy. In her address, she emphasized that the Republic of Croatia is a strong advocate of enlargement based on its own achievements because it has a transformative effect and is the foundation for peace, stability, and prosperity, and it is now back in focus due to geostrategic reasons. She particularly emphasized the need for the European Council to decide to open negotiations for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has made significant progress and, according to the assessment of the European Commission, has fulfilled the conditions for this step.
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