Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at an informal meeting of leaders of the European People's Party (EPP) in Athens on Saturday that this political group should lead Europe in the challenging times ahead, his Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party said in a press release.

The meeting was attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, EPP President Manfred Weber, Presidents of Cyprus and Romania Nicos Anastasiades and Klaus Iohannis respectively, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani, CDU President Friedrich Merz, and other officials and leaders of the EPP’s sister parties.

The EPP expressed clear support for Ukraine, saying that the European Union would continue to assist the country, and discussed preparations by member parties for elections for the European Parliament in 2024 as it seeks to maintain the majority in Parliament.

“As the strongest political group, firmly anchored in the European centre-right, the EPP has the greatest responsibility to demonstrate leadership and stand by the citizens and businesses in a time of crisis,” the press release said.

In his address, Plenkovic said that at this challenging time for Europe and its citizens the EPP should lead the way in seeking solutions to mitigate inflationary pressures and ensure affordable energy prices and a secure supply of energy and food.

He said that his government had responded promptly and stood behind Croatian households and enterprises with two aid packages worth a total of HRK 26 billion (€3.46bn).

Plenkovic announced a project to expand the capacity of the Croatian LNG terminal on the northern Adriatic island of Krk, and said that Croatia had met all the requirements for membership of the euro area and the Schengen area, thanking his colleagues for support.

Plenkovic met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.