The Croatian Foreign Minister, Marija Pejcinovic-Buric, took over the six-month rotating chairmanship of the Council of Europe (CoE) from Denmark in a ceremony in Helsingor on Friday.
This is Croatia’s first time chairing the CoE since it became its member in 1996.
The chairmanship will be an opportunity to prepare the country for a much more demanding presidency of the EU in the first half of 2020, said Pejcinovic-Buric.
She presented Croatia’s priorities for the six-month period – the fight against corruption, protection of ethnic minorities and vulnerable groups, decentralisation and the protection of cultural heritage.
Earlier this week, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) published a report which criticised Croatia over a rise in hate speech against Serbs, LGBT persons, and the Roma population, as well as a rise in nationalism. The minister said that the issue would be addressed in some of the CoE meetings, as well as on the national level.
“We have selected these priorities in Croatia, and with consent from the CoE. Human rights are the foundation on which the priorities must be built. The issue of corruption shows that no country or institution is immune, and it is necessary to continue working on standards and their implementation,” Pejcinovic-Buric said.
Croatia will hand over the chairmanship to Finland on November 21 in Strasbourg, and the next meeting of the Committee of Ministers will be held on May 16-17, 2019, in Helsinki.
The Council of Europe has 47 members, and is the oldest European organisation, founded in 1949 in London with the aim of strengthening European unity and promoting democracy, protection of human rights, and the rule of law in Europe.
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