EU-Western Balkans Summit: Plenković Announced Focus on the Region During Croatian Presidency

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announced on Tuesday in London during the EU-Western Balkans summit that Croatia will focus on the countries of Southeast Europe during its presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2020, and he particularly welcomed the agreement between Athens and Skopje regarding the name, emphasizing that it is “good for the stability of the entire region”.

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On the second day of the summit in London, leaders of six Western Balkan countries and ten EU countries, including British Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, discussed strengthening economic and security cooperation between the EU and the region.

“The main topics we discussed were primarily the economy, connectivity, cooperation in the field of transport, better preparation of Southeast European countries in their process of joining the European Union, security issues, and migration,” said Plenković in a statement to Croatian media.

The Croatian Prime Minister emphasized that the Berlin Process, within which the summit in London is held, has given an additional impetus to the relations between the EU and the countries of Southeast Europe “and in a way filled the gap that existed in institutional dialogue”.

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“During its presidency, Croatia wants to refocus on our neighborhood, and therefore I also announced this time a second summit of this type in 2020 in this current constellation of leaders of the European Union and the countries of the region,” said Plenković, recalling that after the summit in Zagreb at the level of heads of state and government in that format in 2000, and the summit in Thessaloniki in 2003, it took a full fifteen years until the summit in Sofia held a month and a half ago.

The Berlin Process was initiated in 2014 by German Chancellor Merkel to encourage the countries of the region to implement reforms and show them that the EU, despite enlargement fatigue, still keeps its doors open for all Southeast European countries that meet the membership criteria.

The main goals of the summit are to strengthen economic stability in Southeast Europe through improving the business environment and regional connectivity, then strengthening regional security, including the fight against corruption, organized crime, human trafficking, drug and arms trafficking, terrorism, and violent extremism, as well as facilitating political cooperation to resolve bilateral issues more quickly.

Agreed Cooperation in the Search for Missing Persons and Prosecution of War Crimes

Plenković said that the most time at the summit was spent discussing the resolution of certain bilateral problems that have long burdened relations between states, specifically mentioning the agreement between Greece and Macedonia in the name dispute.

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“This is the first major meeting after that agreement. In my speech, I welcomed the fact that NATO will invite Macedonia to membership at the summit in Brussels tomorrow. I think this is a good move, a good move for mutual relations and for the stability of the entire Southeast Europe,” said Plenković.

At the summit in Lancaster House in central London, among others, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras participated.

The Prime Minister stated that a number of declarations related to good neighborliness, the issue of searching for missing persons, and cooperation in prosecuting war crimes were signed at the summit.

“There is a very clear formulation about avoiding conflicts of jurisdiction. When you talk about avoiding conflicts of jurisdiction, then for Croatia, it means that Croatia is the one that is competent for prosecuting all criminal offenses that occurred on its territory,” he said.

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Plenković said that the summit also discussed migration issues and reiterated that all non-EU participants are expected to “practically follow the EU policy, which is the protection of external borders, strengthening national capacities, respecting all readmission agreements, and quality information exchange”.

“As far as Croatia is concerned, the better we resolve the issue at the border between Greece and Turkey, the fewer problems we will all have together,” he said.

Plenković and May Also Talked About the Semifinal

Plenković confirmed that he will attend the semifinal match of the World Cup between Croatia and England tomorrow in Moscow. “I am very excited and I think it is truly a historic day, a reprise of that great semifinal experience from 1998. I just hope for a victory for Croatia. These are moments that are remembered for generations, and we must be proud of our footballers,” he said, adding that the success of the Croatian national football team is a great promotion for the country. “In the age of the internet and all possible social networks, I think we couldn’t have dreamed of a better promotion… we will be wholeheartedly, soulfully, and physically in Moscow with the Croatian footballers… I am convinced of the final on Sunday,” said Plenković.

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The Croatian Prime Minister also discussed the match with his British counterpart May, with whom he exchanged jerseys of the Croatian and English national teams.

Less than a year before Brexit, and amid a crisis shaking the British government after the resignation of two ministers, British officials wanted to organize the EU-Western Balkans summit to show that London wants to remain a European partner even after leaving the European Union, especially in the areas of security, the fight against terrorism, and cross-border crime, and that it is strongly interested in the stability and economic progress of Southeast Europe.

The London summit included six Balkan countries aspiring to EU membership – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia, seven EU member states involved in the Berlin Process – Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, and Poland, Great Britain as the host, and Bulgaria and Greece.

On the first day of the summit on Monday, a series of meetings of foreign and interior ministers of the involved countries were held, discussing topics important for the future of Southeast Europe. Special emphasis was placed on security and migration issues, as well as on youth – within the framework of the gathering, presentations by young leaders were held, and representatives of civil society and start-up entrepreneurs had the opportunity to talk to ministers and present their ideas and views on the future development of the region.

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This is the fifth annual summit of the EU-Western Balkans – after the first summit in Berlin, three more meetings were held in Vienna, Paris, and Trieste. Next year, the summit will be organized by Poland.

After the formal discussions, a reception is planned at Clarence House hosted by Prince Charles for the participants of the gathering, and Plenković is expected to meet later in the evening with representatives of the Croatian community in Great Britain at the Croatian embassy.