Media in Croatia are speculating about where Plenkovic will continue his political career whether at the Bansko Courts or in the Schuman Square.
Although Serbia did not participate in the elections for the European Parliament, since it is not a member of the European Union, it is certain that the official Belgrade has followed the results with great interest, but also with similar attention, it followed the dissolution of the formation of European institutions, ie who will occupy key positions in the new Brussels administration. In the last days, one name has become very important. It is the current Prime Minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenkovic, who is mentioned as a possible successor to Federica Mogherini.
Plenkovic already stayed in Brussels, as a deputy of the head of Croatian Mission with European Union, and it is no secret that he has ambitions to build a European career.
He has more and more competitors in his own party, so he could have more contenders next year in his party elections.
So far, the former heads of Croatian diplomacy are mentioned, Davor Ivo Stir and Miro Kovac, but the list will certainly be longer.
That is why the Media in Croatia are speculating about where Plenkovic will continue his political career whether at the Bansko Courts or in the Schuman Square.
In that sense, a lot of things depend on the upcoming negotiations on Friday on the distribution of key functions in the EU.
According to the Croatian Vecernji list, at the gathering of European members, all prime minister and the presidents belonging to the EPP unanimously confirmed support for Manfred Weber as European Commission President.
And Plenkovic is one of the most prominent advocates of Wembley’s candidacy to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker.
Therefore, it would be illogical to anyone, especially himself, to signal that Plenkovic is a potential reserve for the duty where everyone supports Weber. However, if Weber somehow drops out of that, which is a great desire by the European liberals and the French president Emmanuel Macron, the circumstances could change.
Plenkovic could proclaim is candidacy – for the place of the President of the European Council, or high representative for foreign and safety politics of EU, the function which currently belongs to Federica Mogherini.
As Mogherini was in charge of modeling the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, it is clear why would that be so important for the Serbian authorities.
There are calculations that Plenkovic will change his duty of the prime minister of Croatia for a high place in Brussels, but that is not confirmed so far, said Aleksandar Popov for Telegraf.rs, the president of the center for regionalism.
– How will that reflect Serbia, is still speculated. The first and the most important thing about negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina is, will they remain in the framework as it was so far. Will the modeling of those negotiations remain in the hands of the Chief of European Diplomacy – said Popov.
According to him, many things are “undetermined”.
– A lot of things depend on the summit in Paris, where Kosovo will be the main topic. There are still a lot of unknowns about the continuation of the dialogue – said Popov and added.
– And now, what will Plenkovic do in a situation like this, it is probable that he will follow the politics of the EU. I don’t believe that he could do it, as a high representative of the EU, to chose a side, he would have to be neutral.
Popov recalls that Mogherini wasn’t so strict.
– She didn’t exert pressure on both sides to apply the Brussels agreement, she brought the negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina into a dead end with her passiveness – mentioned Popov.
Croatia will be holding the EU Presidency from January 1st. If he remains at the helm of the Croatian government, Plenkovic’s European career would be at stake, because he should wait for the next elections in Europe, and no one can predict what is going to be by then.
Source: telegraf