EU must pay more heed to instability in Western Balkans, says Croatian PM
March 20 (Reuters) - European Union leaders must pay more attention to increased instability in the Western Balkans, specifically in Bosnia and Serbia, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday ahead of an EU summit in Brussels.
"We have to monitor the situation in southeastern Europe, primarily the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the situation in Serbia," Plenkovic told reporters in Brussels.
He was alluding to the gravest political crisis in Bosnia since the end of its 1992-95 war, caused by separatist Serb moves after their leader Milorad Dodik was handed a year in jail for defying rulings by the post-war international peace envoy.
Plenkovic also referred to months of anti-government rallies in Serbia after the deaths of 15 people in a railway station roof collapse drew accusations of widespread high-level corruption and negligence.
Plenkovic also said it was important to use momentum created by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year after Russia's full-scale invasion.
"We believe that Ukraine can survive only if it stays strong and boosts its defence capacities," he said.
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For several months Greenland, which is a semi-autonomous Danish territory with 56,000 people, has come under intense pressure as US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to acquire the vast mineral-rich island, citing American security as the primary reason and not ruling out using force."Macron is not coming to Greenland just for Greenland's sake, it's also part of a bigger game, among these big powers in the world," says Kleist. France was among the first nations to speak up against Mr Trump, even floating an offer of deploying troops, which Denmark declined. Only a few days ago at the UN's Oceans conference in Nice, Macron stressed that "the ocean is not for sale, Greenland is not for sale, the Arctic and no other seas are for sale" - words which were swiftly welcomed by Nielsen. "France has supported us since the first statements about taking our country came out," he wrote in a Facebook post. "It is both necessary and gratifying."That Macron is coming is a strong message itself, reckons Ulrik Pram Gad, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies. "The vice presidential couple weren't really able to pull it off," he says, referring to JD Vance and his wife Usha's scaled-back trip in March and lack of public engagements. "That, of course, sends a message to the American public, and to Trump." It also highlights a shift, as Greenland's leaders consolidate relations with Denmark and the EU, "because we have to have allies in these problems," says Kaj Kleist, alluding to US pressure."I think it's a good time for Macron to come through here," Kleist adds. "They can talk about defence of the Arctic before the big NATO meetings… And hear what we are looking for, in terms of cooperation and investment." However, opposition leader Pele Broberg thinks Greenland should have hosted bilateral talks with France alone. ""We welcome any world leader, anytime," he says "Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like a visit for Greenland this time. It looks like a visit for Denmark."Relations between the US and Denmark have grown increasingly fractious. US Vice President JD Vance scolded the Nordic country for underinvesting in the territory's security during his recent trip to an American military base in the far north of Greenland. Last month Denmark's foreign minister summoned the US ambassador in Copenhagen, following a report in the Wall Street Journal alleging that US spy agencies were told to focus efforts on at a congressional hearing on Thursday, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to suggest under tense questioning that the Pentagon had prepared "contingency" plans for taking Greenland by force "if necessary". Denmark, however, has treaded cautiously. Last week its parliament green-lighted a controversial bill allowing US troops to be stationed on Danish soil, and is spending another $1.5bn (£1.1bn) to boost Greenland's defence. That heightened military presence was on show this weekend as a Danish naval frigate sailed around Nuuk Fjord and helicopters circled over the town."Denmark has been reluctant to make this shift from having a very transatlantic security strategy to a more European strategy," assesses Gad, but that's changed in recent months. With rising tensions and increased competition between global powers in the Arctic, the EU is also stepping up its role. Earlier this month the trade bloc signed a deal investing in a Greenland graphite mine - a metal used in batteries - as it races to secure supplies of critical minerals, as well as energy resources, amid China's dominance and Russia's war in Ukraine. For France, the visit to Greenland ties into its policy to boost European independence from the US, suggests Marc Jacobsen, associate professor at the Royal Danish Defence College. "This is about, of course, the changed security situation in North Atlantic and the Arctic," he explains. "It's a strong signal. It will show that France takes European security seriously."
