Croatia will be presiding over the EU for the first half of 2020 and one of its priorities ill be EU enlargement, the European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development told N1.
“Enlargement is important because of the escalation of negative relations in the region,” European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, said.
“As soon as this negative escalation is put in the context of enlargement and future coexistence, it will be possible to reverse the negative direction,” he added.
As a new and small EU member, Croatia is not aiming to spend 100 to 150 million Euro during the term as big countries do.
“Perhaps half of that,” Mimica said, adding that this was at a level with the last few presidencies.
He said no additional staff will probably need to be employed for this six-months task, but that those who already work for the state administration will fill the Brussels office and do their best.
Asked about the future of the EU, Mimica said that several issues have shaken the union, such as Brexit and the rise of anti-European political options.
“It is a fact that discussions and agreements about the future of the EU are needed,” he said.
Political populism had its ups and downs in the past few years and now it may not really be at its peak, he said, but “this does not mean there should be no political confrontation.”
“Europe needs a different political platform, not a populist one,” he said.
Populism is not gone and the European Parliament will after next year’s election surely be a place where pro and anti-European forces will clash, he predicted.
He said he is not planning to run for a seat in the European Parliament but that Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic could be considered for the European Commission President.
“Regarding his qualities and his background, nobody should be surprised by such a political choice,” he said but added that it was not likely that Plenkovic would leave everything he started doing and seek his place in the European Commission.
