Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in Brussels on Friday that there was no alternative to Europe-Asia connectivity, announcing that a Europe that connects would be one of the priorities of Croatia's presidency of the EU in the first half of 2020.

“Connectivity is a means of cooperation in the global and increasingly fragmented world. Improving connectivity between Europe and Asia therefore has no alternative,” Plenkovic said at the EU-Asia Connectivity Forum in Brussels.

The event was opened by European Commission President Jean Claude-Juncker and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Plenkovic said that stronger regional cooperation between the EU and Asia was a key aspect of the EU’s approach to the Eastern Partnership and Central Asia, as well as for cooperation in the Black, Baltic, Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas.

One of the main priorities of our chairmanship will be a Europe that connects, said the Croatian PM.

He stressed that Croatia was a strong advocate of the expansion of trans-European corridors and added that the Adriatic-Ionian motorway project could be one of the leading projects for many countries.

With regard to energy connectivity, he mentioned the Adriatic-Ionian gas pipeline on the southern gas corridor, which would soon start transporting gas from Azerbaijan to Europe, one of the final destinations being Croatia.

At the start of his address, Plenkovic expressed satisfaction with the fact that European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen had included demography in the programme of her Commission and designated a separate department for that area.

Unlike Asian countries, for Europe the demographic challenge is a political issue and an issue of survival with which almost half of EU members are faced. Only together, by respecting competencies at the local and national levels, can we respond to that challenge, said Plenkovic.