Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman, who held talks with his Portuguese counterpart in Lisbon on Wednesday, said that Portugal supported Croatia's efforts to join the passport-free travel Schengen area, as well as to join the OECD, and the MED7, an alliance of Mediterranean EU member states.

“Portugal has expressed unreserved support for Croatia in that regard,” Grlic-Radman told state agency Hina after he met with Portuguese Foreign Minister, Augusto Santos Silva, in Lisbon. Grlic-Radman said that during his recent visit to Madrid, Spanish officials had also expressed support for Croatia’s Schengen membership bid and plans to join MED7.

MED7, or EuroMed 7, is a group consisting of Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, and Malta. Government ministers of these countries meet once a year to discuss topics of common interest. The group was established in 2013 at the proposal of Spain and Cyprus.

The next meeting of MED7 is likely to be organized in Greece this autumn, and Grlic-Radman said in Lisbon that he hoped that Croatia and Slovenia, which also aspires for MED7 membership, could attend that meeting. “The admission of Croatia and Slovenia to that association would bolster Mediterranean cooperation,” Grlic-Radman said.

Portugal is chairing the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2021, and later on Thursday, an informal meeting of the foreign ministers of the EU member states, will take place in Lisbon.

EU-Africa relations, unresolved conflicts in what EU bureaucracy calls “Eastern Neighbourhood” and the Indo-Pacific region will be on the agenda. Jordanian Foreign Affairs Minister, Ayman Al Safadi, was also invited to take part in the working lunch attended by EU27 foreign ministers.

Croatian-Portuguese relations excellent, TAP introduces direct Lisbon-Zagreb flight service

As for Croatian-Portuguese relations, Grlic-Radman described them as “excellent, with no outstanding issues.” He thanked Santos Silva for the prompt Portuguese assistance after the December 2020 quake had hit central Croatia.

TAP Air Portugal, the state-owned flag carrier airline of Portugal, will introduce direct flights between Lisbon and Zagreb on 2 June, after it had ceased operating that line more than five years ago. “We are looking forward  to that service,” Grlic-Radman said.

Grlic-Radman also welcomed the Portuguese authorities’ decision to ease rules for the entry of Croatians into Portugal. Currently, travelers arriving from Croatia into Portugal are required to have a negative PCR test and do not need to quarantine.