- Published: 21.10.2025.
State Secretary for Europe Metelko-Zgombić attends GAC
The Council finalized preparations for the European Council meeting on 23 and 24 October, where leaders will discuss Ukraine, the Middle East, European competitiveness and the twin transition, housing, and migration. The state secretary reiterated Croatia’s strong and comprehensive support for Ukraine and reported on the first international conference on the rehabilitation and social reintegration of Ukrainian veterans, held on 9 October in Split in cooperation with Ukraine. She expressed support for continued efforts to strengthen European defence and security, and welcomed the new defence plan aimed at enhancing European defence capabilities by 2030. She underlined that Croatia particularly supports the development of capabilities in drones, counter-drone systems, and air defence, noting that projects should reflect real needs and be coordinated by member states. She emphasized Croatia’s readiness to take part in leading efforts on the procurement of small drones. The EU’s ambition to assume greater responsibility for its own security and defence was supported, while maintaining cooperation and coordination with NATO.
Regarding competitiveness and the green and digital transitions, which should also be fair and socially balanced, the state secretary supported efforts to simplify EU legislation and remove key barriers in the Single Market, while underlining the importance of maintaining standards. In anticipation of the leaders’ forthcoming strategic discussion on achieving the EU’s intermediate climate target for 2040, Croatia strongly emphasized the principle of solidarity, bearing in mind that member states have different starting points depending on their level of development and their past capacity to utilize EU funds, as well as certain specific national circumstances. Croatia also stressed that a fair and geographically balanced approach to EU financing is a necessary precondition for the success of the European climate policy.
Metelko-Zgombić particularly welcomed the inclusion, for the first time, of the topic of housing on the agenda of European leaders, as this issue is directly linked to demographic revitalization, which is of strategic importance for Croatia. Given that housing policy falls within the competence of member states, Croatia expects that the measures to be proposed by the European Commission at the EU level will complement those already being implemented at national level. She expressed satisfaction that the European Commission has recognized Croatia’s National Housing Policy Plan, adopted by the Government of the Republic of Croatia in March this year, as an example of good practice.
In reference to the proposed horizontal elements of the future Negotiating Framework and Pillar 2 of the future MFF - Competitiveness - the state secretary underlined that the future MFF must be sufficiently ambitious and robust to enable the implementation and achievement of the objectives of key EU policies such as the Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy, which, together with the Common Fisheries Policy, remain strategic priorities of the Republic of Croatia. It must also support the EU’s new strategic priorities, such as competitiveness, overall security (including migration and defence), and resilience. Regarding the ongoing work on strengthening European competitiveness, Croatia believes that the proposed new European Competitiveness Fund should benefit all member states, including those less developed (with GDP below the EU average) and those less experienced in using such financial instruments. The state secretary therefore advocated that, alongside the principle of excellence, attention be given to geographical balance, ensuring the fairer participation of stakeholders from all member states in projects financed by the fund, as well as the inclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Council took note of the progress report concerning the omnibus legislative packages for simplification.