Romanian-Croatian high level talks
Romania and Croatia plan on furthering bilateral relations and boost cooperation at the level of the European Union
Roxana Vasile, 03.10.2017, 13:58
Croatia will support Romania’s efforts to join the Schengen area, said Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic who met with her Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis during her official visit to Bucharest. Croatia, itself a candidate to joining Schengen, has been encouraged in its bid by the recent statements of the European Commission President, Jean Claude Junker. “It’s high time to bring Romania and Croatia into the Schengen area. Croatia too deserves full membership in the Schengen area as soon as all criteria are met.
The EU must offer credible membership prospects to Western Balkans,” Juncker said in mid-September, adding that that was a must if the purpose of the EU was to unite Europe rather than divide it. Unlike Croatia, Bucharest met all technical criteria for accession a long time ago. There are, however, several members of the community bloc that have chosen to ignore this perspective and set the elimination of the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification as a condition for Romania’s joining Schengen.
The Croatian President favours the lifting of this instrument that monitors the reforms in the judicial system. On the other hand, Bucharest and Zagreb are willing to consolidate bilateral ties and work together better within the EU and NATO. Also, the economic relations between the two countries can be improved considerably and next year’s “Tree Seas Initiatives” summit, is a good opportunity to do just that. President Klaus Iohannis:
“I will propose to try and draw up a short list of feasible infrastructure projects that all participants agree on, which can be presented to the European Commission for instance, as an application for cohesion funds, given that it is something that applies to this category.”
In her turn, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic has insisted on infrastructure development in the region. “This is crucial for our countries, so as not to develop a multi-speed Europe, but a Europe that wants to consolidate its position and ensure economic development for all member states,” the Croatian official said during a joint press conference with President Iohannis. In support of her ideas, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic gave a suggestive example. She explained that if someone tried to travel from Romania to Poland by car, via Bulgaria, it would see that the trip is quite difficult and takes a lot of time. This is also the case if someone took the train. Also, in the energy sector there are many initiatives connecting East and West, and very few connecting North and South. Hence, the purpose of the “Three Seas Initiative” to build road, rail and energy corridors able to connect the Adriatic, Black and Baltic seas. (Translated by E. Enache)
