Helsinki – Croatian Parliament delegation headed by Foreign Policy and Defence Committees’ Chairs, Miro Kovač and Igor Dragovan, respectively, as well as Deputy Chairs of the two Committees, Joško Klisović and Anđelko Stričak, participated at the EU Inter-parliamentary Conference on Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CFSP / CSDP) held in Helsinki, 4 – 6 September 2019 in the framework of the parliamentary dimension of the Finland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Helsinki Conference on the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy covered topics related to security challenges in the Baltic Sea Region, priorities of the EU in the area of CFSP and CSDP, restoring Transatlantic Unity, EU defence, and climate change and security.
Conference held three simultaneous breakout workshops related to political developments in the Western Balkans, countering hybrid threats: assessing the EU’s policies and instruments, and Iran - options for the EU and the future of the nuclear deal.
In the context of the debate on restoring Transatlantic Unity, within a complex and globally polarized situation, Miro Kovač, Chair of the Foreign Policy Committee expressed the view that the existing challenges could be overcome by focusing on continuation of the dialogue which is crucial in establishing cooperation. On the subject of the Western Balkans, Kovač stressed the importance of further discussions on the European perspective of the countries of the area, stressing that disagreements on border issues should not affect the future of negotiations and the continuation of dialogue, since the accession to the Union membership would abolish borders as lines of demarcation.
As part of the debate on the priorities of the EU in the area of Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy, Chair of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Croatian Parliament Miro Kovač announced that the next CFSP and CSDP Inter-parliamentary Conference will be held, within the framework of the first Croatian Presidency of the EU Council, in Zagreb, 2 - 4 March 2020, outlining the Conference Agenda. Joško Klisović, Deputy Chair of the Foreign Policy Committee took the floor during the hybrid threats workshop, pointing to the problem of using control of companies that collect and process information on citizens by companies that are not owned by European citizens or under the jurisdiction of the European Union.
Zagreb Conference will introduce the newly elected High Representative of the European Union for Foreign and Security Policy and the Vice-President of the European Commission, and discuss the priorities of the new institutional mandate of the European Union.