Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, who was on a two-day working visit to Italy, on Friday held meetings with Vice President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Maria Edera Spadoni, and the chairwoman of the foreign and European affairs committee of the Chamber of Deputies, Marta Grande, which confirmed a high level of relations between Italy and Croatia.
- We have once again confirmed the high level of relations between Croatia and Italy and underscored that we are satisfied that we cooperate very well when it comes to the issue of the protection of minorities, Jandroković said after the meeting, assessing relations as good and friendly.
He underlined that Croatia was particularly interested in strengthening economic relations with Italy. "That is our second most important trade partner and the third country for investments," he said, recalling that a large number of Italian tourists visit Croatia.
Some of the topics of the talks in Rome included the challenges the EU is encountering - from the migrant crisis to the economic situation and youth employment.
The talks in Rome also confirmed Italy's support to Croatia's efforts to join the Schengen Area and the eurozone and to Zagreb's priorities during its chairmanship of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2020. The officials of the two countries exchanged their views on the situation in southeast Europe with special emphasis on Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- We share similar thoughts about the EU's future, and we are also aware that only a joint approach can lead to resolving all the issues that member states are faced with today, Jandroković said. He added that both countries support the European prospects for southeast European countries.
Jandroković concluded that this visit has made an additional contribution to overall relations and expressed his satisfaction with that and with parliamentary cooperation enhancing the bilateral relations.
During the talks, the need to strengthen and deepen inter-parliamentary cooperation was underlined, which will contribute to a regular exchange of opinions at the level of committees responsible for foreign and European affairs and also within the framework of regional initiatives such as the Central European Initiative.