Croatian Parliament Speaker meets Romanian Chamber of Deputies President

Zagreb - Romania is a strong partner to Croatia, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania Valeriu Stefan Zgonea said on Wednesday after talks with Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko, at which the two officials said that their common goal was to help southeast and east European countries on the road to the EU and NATO.

Speaking at a news conference in the Sabor on the first day of his official visit to Croatia, Zgonea said that the two countries were connected by the Romanian Croat minority, who have had their representative in the Romanian parliament for the last 25 years and whom he thanked for their contribution to the Romanian state.

Speaking of common goals, Leko underlined initiatives concerning southeast Europe such as the Danube Initiative and the Union for the Mediterranean. - In that cooperation we see synergy for assistance to southeast European countries on their path to the EU and NATO, said Leko.

- The common goal is a united Europe where security, stability and prosperity will rule, said Zgonea. He stressed the need to help eastern European countries like Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia in the European integration process.

Leko and Zgonea said Croatia and Romania would formalise a memorandum of understanding between the two parliaments, a document that would serve as a basis for permanent cooperation in creating EU policies, notably as regards the parliamentary committees for European affairs, foreign affairs, and finance and budget. (Hina)

Author: Hina/Office of the Speaker