Talking Europe hosts the Croatian prime minister, who steered his country into the eurozone and the Schengen free travel area at the start of this year. Andrej Plenkovic talks about the symbolic and practical aspects of these two moves, and discusses his government's plans to continue helping Ukraine – despite the Croatian parliament's recent rejection of a proposal to join an EU military mission in support of Kyiv.
Asked about the implications of open borders with Croatia's neighbours, Plenkovic says: "People are really thrilled that there are no more border controls on the crossings between Croatia and Slovenia; between Croatia and Hungary. Seventy-three border crossings are now police-free and customs-free. That means people going freely to the west or to the north of Europe. It means less costs, and more tourists coming to Croatia. 82 percent of overnight tourist stays in Croatia are made by people who come from the Schengen area. So this is going to be a huge economic benefit for us."
On the new responsibilities that come with joining Schengen, Plenkovic adds: “We shall guard the external Schengen border just as efficiently as we guarded the external EU border. The responsibilities are higher, and everything seems to be in the best order. I want to say that our example and our advances should be an incentive for other countries in Southeast Europe."
'Historic mischoice' by opposition MPs on Ukraine
The prime minister then turns to Croatian lawmakers' decision in December to reject a proposal for Croatia to join an EU mission in support of the Ukrainian military. The government had needed 24 votes from opposition parties for the motion to pass. "Those political forces bear the responsibility of a historic mischoice," he says. "We, as the government, will not hesitate to tell them that at every occasion. The responsibility is not ours, but that of those MPs who failed to be on the right side of history."
Plenkovic continues: "The absurdity here is that Croatia has already given extensive military assistance to Ukraine, as well as political, diplomatic, technical and economic assistance. So having our officers and trainers participate in the mission that will be taking place in Germany or Poland could have been an addition to what we have done so far."
Produced by Isabelle Romero, Sophie Samaille and Perrine Desplats
