On behalf of the European Parliament, MEP Picula will negotiate with the European Council and the Commission, about the conditions for allocation of IPA III funds, with the goal of helping the countries future candidates and current candidates for EU membership, to meet the conditions required for accession.

Newly appointed S&D coordinator at the European Parliament's Foreign Policy Committee, MEP Tonino Picula, stressed the need for peaceful solutions in Venice and Hong Kong.

Europe is and must stay relevant, because it is a strong and credible soft power, first humanitarian provider, it has means to act and protect peace in cooperation with our allies. It is helping creating and preserving the conditions for peace and human dignity in many places of the world, said MEP Tonino Picula in his plennary speech.

MEP Tonino Picula supported the Report on the Proposal for a Regulation on the European Border and Coast Guard, at the last plenary session in Strasbourg.

Hrvatski zastupnik u Europskom parlamentu Tonino Picula glasao je danas protiv Izvješća EP o BiH

At the first plenary session in Strasbourg in 2018, MEP Tonino Picula participated in the debate on the implementation of the EU macro-regional strategies. Croatia actively participates in two: the EU Strategy for the Danube Region and the Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region.

On suggestion of the S&D group, the European Parliament discussed extending Schengen to Croatia, today in Strasbourg. MEP Tonino Picula is pleased that he achived that this topic gets priority at the last plenary session in 2017.

"I expect that European institutions will not allow the political blockade of Croatia's entry into Schengen when we meet the criteria. The European Union must be equal to all its Member States and there cannot be any kind of discrimination," said Tonino Picula at a plenary session in Strasbourg.

The European Parliament voted a draft decision on the application of the provisions relating to the Schengen information system (SIS), which is a very first step towards the lifting checks at the EU internal borders to Croatia.