Plenković remains Prime Minister of Croatia, does not want a position in European institutions

(Patria) - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, after the informal EU summit held on Monday in Brussels, said he is not interested in any European functions and that he is “eager for a third mandate” at the head of the Croatian government.

“I am the Croatian prime minister with already a lot of experience, eager for a third mandate,” Plenković replied.

It was precisely at this meeting that several top positions in the EU were discussed after the elections, but an agreement has not yet been reached. This could happen at the end of next week.

President of the European Council Charles Michel said at a press conference that a final agreement had not been reached, but expressed confidence that they would manage to agree by the formal meeting of the EU Council.

Discussions are underway regarding the positions of President of the European Commission, President of the European Council, High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, and President of the European Parliament.

Given the balance of power in the European Council, where the EPP has 12 prime ministers, and in the European Parliament, where it has 190 out of 720 members, it seems most likely that the EPP candidate Ursula von der Leyen will get a second term at the head of the European Commission, and Roberta Metsola will remain President of the European Parliament in the first half of this parliamentary term.

For the position of President of the European Council, the name of former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa from the ranks of the socialists is crystallizing, along with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas for High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security, who comes from the ranks of the liberals.

“These discussions will continue in the coming days and if consensus is reached, we will make a decision at the regular meeting of the European Council at the end of next week. This meeting was more of an informational nature,” Plenković told reporters after the meeting.

Plenković said that not only the four EU functions should be taken into account, but that consideration should also include who gets the positions of NATO Secretary General, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, and President of the European Investment Bank.

“In this context, we need to see how the will of voters in the European elections is reflected and how the current situation in the governments of individual member states is reflected,” said Plenković, adding that he presented such views at EPP meetings.

Some media outlets, citing unnamed sources, reported that Plenković requested that the position of President of the European Council be held by a socialist for the first two and a half years, and by someone from the EPP for the next two and a half years, so that it would not happen that after two and a half years, the center-right parties are left only with the position of President of the Commission.

In other words, Plenković wants to sacrifice half a term of the top EU Commission position for more leading EU functions, and this idea of his was reported by the reputable Politico, which published that the Croatian prime minister presented it at yesterday's internal EPP meeting.

“I don't know who leaked it, but I stand by everything I said and I think it is good for our political family,” said Plenković.