Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic (L) shakes hands with Austrian Federal Minister for European Affairs Karoline Edtstadler during their meeting in Zagreb, Croatia, on Jan. 17, 2020. Croatia and Austria will continue to push for a decision to open accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia at European Council level in March, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Austrian Federal Minister for European Affairs Karoline Edtstadler said here at a meeting on Friday. (Patrik Macek/Pixsell via Xinhua)
ZAGREB, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Croatia and Austria will continue to push for a decision to open accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia at European Council level in March, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Austrian Federal Minister for European Affairs Karoline Edtstadler said here at a meeting on Friday.
Plenkovic, whose country currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), stressed the importance of opening accession negotiations with the two countries as soon as possible, which would be a good signal for the entire region.
The Croatian prime minister also briefed Edtstadler on the priorities of the Croatian presidency, which Austria accepts and supports.
Croatia will intensively work on the new Multiannual Financial Framework, and Plenkovic stressed the importance of reaching an agreement as soon as possible, taking into account the specificities of all EU members.
He also briefed the Austrian minister on preparations for the EU summit to be held in Zagreb in May on the perspective of the Western Balkans to join the EU.
