‘Fake news’ – this is the response from the Party of European Socialists (PES) to claims from Prime Minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenković, that European socialists tried to disrupt Croatia’s accession to the Schengen Area.
Speaking to the media earlier today, Prime Minister Plenković falsely claimed that the SDP – the main opposition party in Croatia – orchestrated a plan with members of our political family to frustrate Croatia’s accession to Schengen. In reality, the PES has long pushed for Croatia to join the EU’s free movement area.
PES Executive Secretary General Giacomo Filibeck said:
“We are proud that we fought, alongside our friends in SDP, to make sure that Croatia was able to take up its rightful place in Schengen. As a member of PES, I am even prouder that it was a progressive European Commissioner who gave the positive recommendation last year which led to Croatia’s accession.
“The rather odd story that we have heard today from Prime Minister Plenković is nothing more than an attempt to deflect attention away from his poor record in government.”
In October 2022, at the PES Congress in Berlin, PES delegates from member parties across Europe adopted a resolution explicitly calling for Croatia to join Schengen “without further delay”. Later that year, in November 2022, the PES welcomed the recommendation by European Commissioner Ylva Johansson – who belongs to the PES family – that Croatia be admitted to Schengen. And in December 2022, the PES welcomed Croatia’s addition to the Schengen club.
