Prime Minister Jüri Ratas met with his Croatian colleague Andrej Plenković in Zagreb on Tuesday. According to Ratas, Croatia is greatly interested in e-health solutions, and would like to see digital prescriptions introduced across the EU.
Ratas said that the Croatian visit summed up all the others he made before to introduce Estonia’s priorities for its EU council presidency, especially with the country’s lively interest in the digital development of Europe.
“One of the aims of our Presidency is to proceed forcefully with e-health, or the digitalisation of health data in Europe. Cooperation between Croatia and Estonia in launching an exchange of health data has progressed excellently this year. In addition, Croatia is very interested in introducing digital prescriptions in the European Union,” Ratas said.
Ratas invited Plenković to the Digital Summit in Tallinn on Sept. 29. The summit will focus on e-government services, the digital development of the economy and society, and the security and confidentiality of cyber space.
“I have heard the opinions, proposals and concerns about issues from the migration crisis to Brexit of 27 member states,” Ratas said. “All these issues are relevant, and it is understandable that they require the common efforts of the EU countries to be resolved. However, people are also looking for inspiration and visions. And this is what we would like to offer in Tallinn at the end of September – we will cast a glance into the future and discuss how to preserve the leading role of Europe globally in the digital economy, industry, and e-government services,” Ratas said.
Apart from digital issues, Ratas and Plenković discussed the security and defense policy of the EU, the prospects of the further enlargement of the Union, the situation in the West Balkans, energy and climate problems, and possibilities to tackle the migration crisis.
Estonia and Croatia had similar interests in the European Union: Competitiveness, a digital single market, and a secure and protected Europe, Ratas said after the meeting.
Ratas also met with the president of the Croatian parliament, Gordan Jandroković, to discuss the key topics of the Estonian EU presidency as well as bilateral relations.
People in Estonia mostly knew about the beautiful sunny coast and historical and cultural heritage of Croatia, Ratas said. Statistics showed this very nicely, with the number of tourists travelling from Estonia to Croatia increasing by 20 to 25 percent every year. But there was more potential. “After the Estonian state visit to Croatia last year, business connections have also become closer,” he added. Plenty of business opportunities were still waiting to be discovered.