European Parliamentary Week 2021

Zagreb - European Parliament (EP) together with the parliamentary dimension of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), has organised this year's European Parliamentary Week 2021.

The Meeting was held on 22 February 2021, consisting of European Semester Conference, the Interparliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Coordination and Governance in the EU; and interparliamentary meetings of committees responsible for financial, economic, social and environmental issues.

A delegation of the Croatian Parliament participated remotely via a video conference: Grozdana Perić, Chair of the Finance and Central Budget Committee, Žarko Tušek, Chair of the Committee on the Economy, Marko Pavić, Chair of the Committee on Regional Development and European Union Funds, Domagoj Hajduković, Chair of the European Affairs Committee, Sandra Benčić, Chair of the Environment and Nature Conservation Committee, Renata Sabljar-Dračevac, Chair of the Health and Social Policy Committee, Marin Lerotić, Deputy-Chair of the Committee on Regional Development and European Union Funds and Katica Glamuzina, Member of the Environment and Nature Conservation Committee.

Keynote speakers stressed that the European Union should use the momentum and focus its plans for recovery from the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic on reducing inequality, strengthening cohesion, boosting the digital and green transition and building a more sustainable and resilient European society.

The discussion between the members of the national parliaments and the European Parliament emphasised the need for joint action of international and European institutions as well as all Member States in order to make the recovery process as successful as possible. As so far only a total of seven Member States, including Croatia, have ratified the Council’s Decision on the system of own resources of the European Union, the remaining Member States are invited to do so as soon as possible.

The importance of national recovery and resilience plans, which Member States must submit to the European Commission in April 2021, was stressed for the overall recovery of the European Union economy.
MPs Grozdana Perić, Žarko Tušek, Marko Pavić and Sandra Benčić joined the discussions at the inter-parliamentary committee meetings.