TIRANA – The EU-Western Balkans Summit scheduled to take place in Zagreb on 7 May will be put off to a new date, said the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union on Tuesday.
In a press release quoted by Croatian media it is said that the postponement was made in an effort to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and to mitigate its effects. A new date will be sought in June in agreement with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel if the COVID-19 situation permits. Alternatively, a video conference will be organized by the end of the Croatian Presidency, the press release announced.
In addition the Croatian EU Presidency has announced that it is postponing all Croatian Presidency related informal meetings scheduled to take place in Croatia until 15 May.
Western Balkans Summit in Zagreb was planned as one of the main events of the Croatian Presidency, aimed at gathering the leaders of the EU and the region for the first time since Sofia Summit in May 2018. Zagreb Summit is supposed to be the event to kick off regular meetings between the Western Balkans and the Union that will take place at least once a year.
Another goal of Croatian Presidency over the Council, green light to opening of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia before the Summit, has been achieved as the Union took a positive decided last March.
In the meantime as it is reported by HINA news agency Croatia reacted on time to the coronavirus pandemic and the Croatian army has been contributing significantly to the fight against that disease, Defence Minister Damir Krsticevic said at a video conference of EU defence ministers, calling for the continuation of cooperation during the current crisis.
The video conference of EU defence ministers was chaired by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josip Borrell and it was dedicated to the defence sector’s contribution in dealing with the pandemic, Croatia’s defence ministry said in a press release.
The ministers exchanged their experience at the national level regarding the army’s support to civil institutions, underscoring that further cooperation and solidarity between EU member states was necessary.
“We began implementing measures for the health, security, education and economic sectors at a very early stage of the emergence of COVID-19,” Krstičević said, adding that Croatian troops had erected a completely autonomous camp which can cater for 220 patients in record time.
Referring to the recent disastrous earthquake that struck Zagreb, Krsticevic said that the army helped there too. He underscored the need for further cooperation and solidarity between EU member states as well as for timely and coordinated measures to prevent the further escalation of the pandemic.
As a good example of cooperation Krsticević pointed at strategic transport, organized by the government to fly Croatian and German medical teams to NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence mission in Lithuania and the joint repatriation of Croatian, Albanian, Montenegrin and North Macedonian troops from Afghanistan. /argumentum.al
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