French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday, before meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic in Paris, that he would visit Croatia next year, emphasising excellent relations between the two countries.

“Europe is built not just in Brussels but in all capitals of EU member states, and that’s why I will accept your invitation to visit Croatia next year. There has not been an official visit for 18 years, which I consider a certain aberration,” Macron told the press before meeting with Plenkovic.

Macron said he appreciated the fact that Plenkovic spoke French and liked France and the commitment he had shown to the country during his diplomatic service in Paris. He said they would discuss topics included on the agenda of this week’s EU summit – Brexit, migration and the euro zone.

“These are also important topics for Croatia, which aspires to join the Schengen area and the euro zone. We also wish to discuss the situation in the Western Balkans, where we also have a lot of interests in common and the will to bring about progress. I think that is important for the stability of our Europe and for the progress of several common European projects,” Macron said.

He said that Croatia and France had friendly relations in all matters except sport, “which sometimes puts us on the opposite sides.”

Plenkovic said that the focus of the meeting would be on improving bilateral relations, notably in trade and culture, and on the situation in Southeast Europe, especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the country’s October 7 general elections.

“I hope Croatia can count on France’s support in fulfilling its ambitions regarding the Schengen area, which could happen during the Croatian presidency of the EU in the first half of 2020, and accession to the euro zone, which is the goal for the end of the term of the next government. I hope that this visit, which will be followed by the that of the President (Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic) to mark the 100th anniversary since the end of the First World War, will contribute to the already excellent relations between Croatia and France,” Plenkovic said before the meeting.

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