As a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the EU Parliament at the end of the last year, you were able to push through two amendments concerning the European coastguard. What kind of proposals are that and why are they important for Croatia?
The initial proposal from the European Commission on the establishment of the European border and Coast Guard consisted only of Schengen area. We all know that Croatia, along with Romania and Bulgaria, is in the process of accession to the "Schengen". However, we don't know how long will this process take, especially considering his impaired functioning of the migrant since the beginning of the crisis.
As the shadow rapporteur I filed amendments which complement the original text, as to protect the external borders of the entire EU and not only the Schengen area. Lobbying process lasted for several months. In doing so I have actively collaborated with other MEPs, but also the Council, in order to achieve that the trialogue comes with the same proposal. I am happy that the hard work paid off. The fact that the Border and Coast Guard formally began their operations on the border of Bulgaria and Turkey is the best confirmation of our work.
There have been long talks on the crisis of the EU – it started with economic, continued with a refugee and then happened Brexit. Does the EU has an idea of ??how to proceed and how to reach a consensus on key issues that obviously cannot reach an agreement?
Next year will be 60 years since the signing of the Treaty of Rome which established the European Economic Community, the forerunner of the European Union, without doubt the most important and most ambitious multilateral project in history. Also, there is no doubt that the EU today is in the biggest crisis since its foundation. The crisis is not only institutional but deeply political.
Mass frustration is produced by the disappearance of jobs in traditional industries and public services, increasing inequality and weakening of the European social model. All of this is also linked with massive disintegration of political systems in the eastern and southern edges of the EU leading to the refugee crisis unprecedented in the recent history of the continent, which showed the ineffectiveness of the European institutions and the lack of solidarity between Member States. The terrorist attacks on civilian targets in the EU and the lack of common coordinated security policies rounds up an impression of serious problems in the functioning of the Union.
Last year ended with terrorist attacks in Berlin and Istanbul. How will these events affect the future elections in Germany, and also relations with Turkey, which could open the borders at any moment and let millions of refugees across the EU border?
Wave of terrorist attacks on the territory of the EU will change the relationship that one part of voters had toward political options. Especially traditional ones. Small chauvinist groups that once acted on the sidelines, have today become almost mainstream parties. Not even Germany is an exception. This year's election will not just be about political destiny of German Chancellor - they will also answer the viability of that kind of keeping the refugee crisis that via facti gave great influence on the situation in the EU to the Turkish President.
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