Helsinki - Croatia and Finland will preside over the European Union in times full of challenges and they are ready to fully cooperate and support one another, Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and his Finnish counterpart Paula Risikko said at their meeting in Helsinki on Wednesday.
Jandroković, who is taking part in a European People's Party (EPP) congress in Helsinki together with a delegation of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), held talks with Risikko within the frameworks of the preparation of Trio (Romania, Finland, Croatia), for taking over the presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 Jan 2019 to 30 June 2020. The concept of trio/troika has been introduced to enable member states to share experiences and ensure coherence on an 18-months base.
"We primarily discussed the future presidency of the Council of the European Union because together with Romania we are part of the chairing troika. Croatia will chair the EU for the first time and Finland's experience is very important to us," Jandroković told the press after his meeting with Risikko. He underscored friendly bilateral relations, adding that both countries wanted to deepen cooperation in the economy and within the EU. The talks also focused on numerous challenges before the EU, including the migrant crisis, Jandroković said.
The two speakers expressed readiness to fully cooperate and support one another in order to successfully prepare and implement the parliamentary dimension of each of the three countries' presidencies. They also commended cooperation so far.
Jandroković and Risikko also talked about topical European issues such as the future functioning of the European Union, the migrant crisis, topics discussed at the EPP congress and the election of the candidate for the European Commission president.
The two speakers agreed that Croatia and Finland shared the commitment to Euro-Atlantic structures, and that there was room to strengthen bilateral relations.