Croatia first-ever presidency of the European Union will start from 1 January 2020, for a six month period.
Joining in 2013, Croatia is the most recent EU member state. The country succeeds Finland, and will therefore begin its presidency when Brexit should become effective in late January.
The stakes are high, both for Croatia and for the EU. Croatian ministers will moderate the meetings with their European counterparts.
The Croatian Presidency will also have to deal with the negotiations on the European multi-annual budget 2021-2027.
The importance of those talks are significant as the EU will have to define which budgets will be available in the coming years, in particular for the agricultural policy and the ‘cohesion fund’.
The Brussels Times