On Wednesday 14 February, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković discussed the EU's enlargement strategy in the Western Balkans at length – particularly the relations between Croatia and Serbia, where Juncker will soon make a visit. They also spoke about the preparations for the Croatian Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2020.
Juncker and Plenković did not, however, address the contentious border issue pitting Croatia against Slovenia, they said at the end of their meeting – even if Juncker stated that the Commission wanted to try and mediate and was available to both these two countries to enable a solution to be found. He also reiterated that no enlargement candidate will be able to join the EU if territorial disputes with its neighbours drag on. "All border issues must be settled before being a member of the EU", he stated, saying that in the Croatia-Slovenia conflict, the Commission did not have the role of saying "such and such a party is right".
On enlargement, Plenković pointed out the experience his country has and its capacity to help Croatia's neighbours fulfil the accession criteria. He also spoke at length about the work done with Serbia to overcome the "wounds" of the past, but also the divergences that persist between the two countries on their borders. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)