In the European Parliament on Wednesday 22 June, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković praised the benefits of EU membership for his country, which has been independent for only 30 years. He portrayed a Croatia that is economically strong, with unemployment at its lowest level in 20 years and membership of the euro area in early 2023 (see EUROPE 12963/1), and ready to play a stabilising role in the Western Balkans, including in the supply of energy to increase the region’s independence from Russian hydrocarbons.
On the eve of what he predicted would be a “historic” European Council (see EUROPE 12977/1), Mr Plenković was outspoken in his support for granting Ukraine and Moldova candidate country status for EU membership, as well as Georgia, when the conditions are met.
This is a “courageous and certainly deserved” decision for Ukraine, a country fighting to defend European values, according to the man who, when he was an MEP, chaired the EU/Ukraine parliamentary delegation. “This is a big change on the way we're looking at countries that are not yet members of the EU”, he added, without mentioning the French idea of setting up a European political community.
The Croatian Prime Minister also wanted Bosnia and Herzegovina to be granted candidate country status as well, because “it should not be the last wagon in the train of Western Balkan countries towards the EU”. If so, it would be a “historical injustice”, he insisted, also calling for electoral reform in that country to allow the Bosnian Croat community to be politically represented “fairly”.
Regarding the debate on the future of Europe, Mr Plenković said he was open to giving the EU more competences in the field of “public health”, praising the EU’s solidarity and creativity in its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. But he did not explicitly call for a reform of the European treaties. He also called on the European Parliament to be cautious in its demand for an end to unanimous decisions by Member States in the EU Council, noting that ‘small’ and ‘medium’ countries remain attached to it.
Condemning Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, Mr Plenković hoped that the EU would organise itself to quickly end its dependence on Russian hydrocarbons. “We need to invest in oil and gas energy grids”, he said. His country will increase the capacity of its LNG terminal from 2.9 to 6.1 million m3 in order to meet its needs and to supply countries in the region that so desire.
Schengen. Finally, the Croatian Prime Minister welcomed the presentation, “ perhaps next week”, of the proposal to integrate his country into the Schengen area of free movement of persons, with a view to an EU Council decision “in the autumn”. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)