The need to expand the European Union to the countries of the Western Balkans was one of the themes discussed on Saturday at the Dubrovnik Forum “Navigating the Global Reshuffle”, attended by, among others, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenković. , the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandroković, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani, the 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 EU partners for years that the Union is not sufficiently involved in the region, from which other actors will benefit, and that the situation in this regard changed in 2018 , when Bulgaria presided over the European Union. Union, writes Hina.
“The moment is here. We will use our experience to move this issue forward,” Plenković said.
He referred to illegal immigration as one of the “fundamental issues” which give rise to reservations in certain countries with regard to enlargement.
“We have to take this issue very, very seriously,” Plenković said, emphasizing that Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has done a lot to protect the Greek border and at the same time the EU’s external border.
Tajani stressed that the Western Balkans constitute a “priority” for the Italian government, adding that it is necessary to support the full membership of Ukraine and the Western Balkan countries in the European Union.
It is important for Italy to stop the flow of illegal migrants via the Mediterranean and Western Balkans routes. This is why Tajani called for joint collaboration to fight against “human smugglers”.
“Every day we have problems in Friuli Venezia Giulia with illegal migrants. We must act together against illegal immigration. We must stop the smugglers. This cannot be done by Italy alone or by Croatia alone,” Tajani said.
In addition to the enlargement of the European Union to the Western Balkan countries and illegal immigration, one of the topics discussed was aid to Ukraine, when Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that Croatia would help the Ukraine in mine clearance and accountability for war crimes, which are areas in which Croatia has an “unfortunate experience” of domestic war.
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borell, described the European Union as a geopolitical actor, stressing that the EU “is not a military alliance, but neither is it an NGO (non-governmental organization) who only preaches good behavior and public order. of the law.”
“In the world we live in, many do not care about the rules and are willing to use force. Ukraine is the latest example,” Borell said, before elaborating his position on EU relations with China, stressing 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”.
