Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in Brussels on Monday, on the occasion of six years of Croatia's membership in the European Union, that the benefits of the membership were multifold.

Plenkovic congratulated Croatian citizens on the anniversary of the country’s membership which, he said, it achieved after long-lasting efforts and hard and demanding negotiations which have had a transformative impact on the country’s economy, legal system, values and economic development.

“We are around HRK 15 billion in the black when it comes to payments into and absorption of funds from the European budget. Trade is increasing, many projects are underway, particularly infrastructure projects – roads, railways, bridges, airports, the LNG terminal. The EU membership has brought a lot of pluses. When our government was formed, we had contract signed on 9% of European funds and now the rate is 70%, we are stepping up the pace and expect that we will absorb all funds from the current financial envelope,” Plenkovic said.

He said that in six months’ time, Croatia would take over the chairmanship of the Council of the EU, which would be the crown of its EU membership and was something the country had been actively preparing for. During its presidency, it will be faced with a huge job, including possibly the adoption of the multi-annual budget for 2021-2027, he said.

“We will endeavour, just as we did during our chairmanship of the Council of Europe last year, to develop Croatia’s international profile in the interest of strengthening our foreign policy position,” he said.