The necessity of expanding the European Union to the countries of the Western Balkans was one of the topics on Saturday at the Dubrovnik Forum “Navigating the Global Reshuffle”, which was attended, among others, by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenković, the President of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandroković, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani, High Representative for EU Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borell and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić.
Plenković said that Croatia has been telling its partners in the EU for years that the Union is not sufficiently involved in the region, which other actors will take advantage of, and that the situation in this regard changed in 2018, when Bulgaria presided over the European Union, writes Hina.
“The moment is here. We will use our experience to push that issue,” Plenković said.
He apostrophized illegal migration as one of the “fundamental issues” that cause some countries’ reservations towards enlargement.
“We have to take this issue very, very seriously,” Plenković said, pointing out that Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has done a lot to protect the Greek border and at the same time the external border of the EU.
Tajani emphasized that the Western Balkans is a “priority” for the Italian government, adding that it is necessary to support the full membership of Ukraine and the countries of the Western Balkans in the European Union.
It is important for Italy to stop the flow of illegal migrants via the Mediterranean and Western Balkan routes, so Tajani appealed for joint work to combat “people smugglers”.
“Every day we have problems in Friuli-Venezia Giulia with illegal migrants. We must act together against illegal immigration. We have to stop the smugglers. That cannot be done by Italy alone or Croatia alone,” said Tajani.
In addition to the expansion of the European Union to the countries of the Western Balkans and illegal migration, one of the topics was aid to Ukraine, when Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that Croatia would help Ukraine in demining and responsibility for war crimes, which are areas in which Croatia has “unfortunate experience ” from the Homeland War.
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borell referred to the European Union as a geopolitical actor, pointing out that the EU “is not a military alliance, but neither is it an NGO (non-governmental organization) that only preaches good behavior and the rule of law.”
“In the world we live in, many do not care about the rules and are ready to use force. Ukraine is the latest example,” said Borell, and then elaborated his position on the EU’s relationship with China, pointing out that it is necessary to reduce dependence on China in some key areas, but at the same time it is necessary to “avoid dividing the world into two ecosystems”.
