Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković met with visiting Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Wednesday.
They assessed relations between the two countries as excellent, friendly and meaningful. Cooperation in the field of economy is particularly intense, with Austria being the second largest foreign investor in Croatia, the third country in terms of the number of tourist visits and the fifth in terms of indicators of bilateral trade.
Jandroković expressed his expectation that Croatia's entry into the euro area will contribute to the further improvement of bilateral economic relations and that further progress can be expected after Croatia becomes a member of the OECD.
During the talks on Croatia's accession to the Schengen Area, Jandroković emphasised that Croatia had fulfilled the most demanding procedure yet on its path to membership of the EU area of passport-free travel.
Croatia's complete readiness for membership of the Schengen Area has been repeatedly confirmed by the European Commission, as well as by the European Parliament, when it recently adopted a positive opinion on the matter.
Jandroković said that he can understand the concerns of the Austrian side when it comes to increased illegal migration, but he also underlined the extremely serious approach of the competent Croatian services in effectively protecting the external border of the European Union.
Chancellor Nehammer too recognises that migrant pressure from the direction of Croatia towards the north is not that great.
He confirmed that Austria has no intention of blocking the decision on Croatia's accession to the Schengen Area at the meeting of the Council for Justice and Home Affairs on 8 December.
Commenting on the energy crisis, as one of the consequences of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the two officials agreed that in crisis situations, the EU should show unity and solidarity, thereby strengthening its own resilience.
Jandroković welcomed the idea of possible cooperation between the two countries in the field of energy. He pointed to the potential of the LNG terminal on Krk Island as a valuable alternative route of gas supply to Central and Southeastern Europe.