The Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković was in Brussels to address the 'This is Europe' Plenary Debate. During her introduction, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said that Croatia's membership in the eurozone is a defining moment both for the country and for the European Union.
© European Union | European Parliament President Roberta Metsola with the Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković
We have the Prime Minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenković with us today.
Prime Minister, welcome back to the European Parliament - a House you know so well.
We know you as a proud pro-European, who as State Secretary for European integration, laid the groundwork for Croatia’s accession to the European Union in 2013, and as MEP worked closely with all of us and also our Ukrainian colleagues. Today, it is under your leadership as Prime Minister of Croatia, that your country has successfully met all the legal criteria for entry into the Euro area. Congratulations.
At the start of the year, our House celebrated the Euro’s 20th anniversary. It is fitting that Croatia will soon become the 20th member of the Eurozone.
This marks a defining moment for Croatia and for our Union.
But in order to remain credible, we also must be consistent. Croatia is ready for Schengen. The European Parliament has long recognised that Croatia has met all the necessary requirements to join the Schengen area. We will continue to support that.
Croatia’s European story - is a success story. It gives hope. It shows results.
With a war on our continent, with the decisions that we must take this week, the importance of hope cannot be underestimated. But hope alone will only get us so far. When countries look to Europe, they expect us to keep our promises and they expect tangible progress. Because Europe can be more. On that note - I thank you Prime Minister, dear Andrej thank you, for being a staunch supporter of Europe, for your leadership and for your tireless endeavours to maintain a viable EU perspective for the region.
Prime Minister, Andrej, the floor is yours. You can find President Metsola's speech in Croatian here.