I want Croatia to become a European regional energy hub and one day ship natural gas also to Bavaria, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in an interview with the German news magazine Focus.

Croatia has an oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the island of Krk that can already service 50 vessels a year, and it intends to expand its capacity, Plenkovic said in the interview.

“We would now like to build a gas pipeline running via Ljubljana and Salzburg all the way to Bavaria. Bavaria has been sending us tourists so far, why wouldn’t we start sending gas to Bavaria soon?” the Croatian PM asked, noting that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was acquainted with possibilities for the expansion of Croatia’s capacity for the import and transfer of LNG.

Scholz has shown interest and we will continue talks on this topic with Germany and other interested partners, Plenkovic said.

Croatia not erecting walls

Asked about Croatia’s accession to the Schengen area of passport-free travel, Plenkovic dismissed statements that there could be pushbacks of migrants on Croatian borders.

“Our border police are trained in line with national and European laws. We have investigated incidents that were contrary to that,” he said.

He noted that Croatia has 6,000 police officers on more than a 1,300-kilometre-long border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro.

“We have knowingly opted against walls, against border obstacles, barbed-wire fence or other physical barriers. They would also separate Croats from Croats. Instead of that, police forces cooperate closely with one another and a lot of EU money is being spent on control capacity,” he said.

Western Balkans has no other place to go but EU

Plenkovic believes that the EU should step up the integration of the Western Balkans.

The more the EU hesitates, the more world regions it leaves to China, Russia or Turkey, he said.

The EU must understand that this is not only about enlargement but about the fact that the Western Balkans is European territory, he said.

“Western Balkan countries are surrounded by EU members, they have nowhere else to go. That is why we should step up the integration process,” he said, but noted that Serbia has to decide where it belongs.

“You cannot sit on two chairs, pretending to be a good guy when holding talks in the EU while promoting economic and historical ties with Russia,” said Plenkovic.

Ukraine not privileged

Plenkovic said he did not think that Ukraine had been given the status of EU candidate too soon or that that was not fair to other countries that had been waiting for that status for a long time.

“What Ukraine is going through right now is unimaginable. Their incredible courage deserves our support. A lot of time will pass before accession to the EU. When the country was offered candidate status, it was a a political message in a critical moment,” he said, noting that despite some nuances, the EU was basically unanimous on Ukraine.

Euro introduction at the right moment

Plenkovic also said that he believes that Croatia is introducing the euro at the right time, despite the current high inflation rates in the EU.

“Our inflation rate this year will be around 10.2, 10.3%. That is more or less as in Germany. However, it has nothing to do with the euro changeover but with the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the related food and energy supply crisis,” he said.

He stressed that Croatia had reduced its public debt, had been given the best grades by credit rating agencies, was logistically and technically capable of replacing the national currency kuna with the euro and that its economy was stable, with a projection of economic growth for 2022 of 5.7%.

“75% of savings and other deposits in Croatia are in euros, half of the loans issued are tied to the euro, half the trade is done with euro area members, and two-thirds of tourists who visit Croatia are from euro area countries. Euro introduction is therefore a natural step,” he said, noting that as a member of the euro area Croatia would be better protected in global crises, with support from the European Central Bank.