Croatian FM held videoconference with foreign ministers of Austria, Italy, Hungary and Slovenia
The main topic of the talks between Grlić Radman and his counterparts Schallenberg, Di Maio, Szijjarto and Logar was the coordination of common measures and responses to the situation that has emerged in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe. The ministers agreed that changes in air and other modes of traffic require a common response, clear communication and a high level of coordination and cooperation between the EU member states.
The ministers also discussed repatriation of EU citizens to their home countries. Grlić Radman thanked his Austrian and Hungarian counterparts for their countries' engagement in the repatriation of Croatian citizens from Morocco, which he highlighted as a successful example of cooperation.
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, in cooperation with the EU member states, coordinated the repatriation of 17 Croatian citizens from Marrakesh to Vienna, four to Brussels and three to Budapest.
Grlić Radman underscored the role of the Presidency of the Consular Affairs Task Force of Croatia's presidency of the Council of the EU, which holds daily phone-conferences with the member states, as well as with various EU bodies such as the European External Action Service, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and the European Medicines Agency, to exchange data on the number of EU citizens in third countries and their repatriation to the Union.