Rasi Meets Croatian House Chair Jandrokovic, Oil Transit Discussed

Bratislava, 21 May (TASR) - House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) on Thursday received his Croatian counterpart Gordan Jandrokovic at Bratislava Castle, where they discussed bilateral cooperation, the Three Seas Initiative and oil transit via the Adria pipeline. The two parliamentary leaders declared their readiness to firm up relations between their two countries. "Croatia is our biggest partner in the Balkans region. Relations aren't only about official political declarations, but also about exceptionally strong interpersonal ties," Rasi declared at a joint press conference after the meeting. He pointed to the number of tourists travelling to Croatia every year, as well as the Slovak community in Croatia and the Croatian community living in Slovakia. The two parliamentary heads highlighted the good relations between the countries and expressed willingness to deepen cooperation at parliamentary level. The talks touched on an amendment to the Slovak Parliament's rules of procedure, which MPs are supposed to follow as of the next parliamentary session. "Unlike in our case, the Croatian Parliament managed to reach agreement even with the opposition that speaking time in debates should be limited," said Rasi. In addition, the discussion covered the situation in the Western Balkans and European Union enlargement. According to Jandrokovic, enlargement can help to support stability on the continent, although he underlined the need for candidate countries to meet the accession conditions. Rasi also declared Slovakia's support for Croatia's accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The two parliamentary leaders discussed oil transit to Slovakia via the Adria pipeline and the Three Seas Initiative. Croatia previously chaired the initiative, while Slovakia is set to host its summit next year. Jandrokovic said that he believes Slovakia will successfully continue to develop the initiative, and he declared Croatia's willingness to assist. mf/df