Pusic to discuss Peljesac Bridge in Brussels next week

Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusic will be in Brussels next week to attend meetings of the European Union's Foreign Affairs Council and General Affairs Council, where she will try to find out whether the Peljesac Bridge construction project can apply for funding from EU structural funds.

"It's a political issue that needs to resolved. It's funny that it never occurred to anyone to propose it for funding from European funds, and if we get those funds, we will have to account for every euro spent," Pusic told the press after meeting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the northern Adriatic island resort of Brijuni.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said he had decided to open talks on the Peljesac Bridge with the European Commission because it was in Croatia's interest and because the country did not have the necessary 400 million euros for the project. The Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Sinisa Hajdas-Doncic, said that the European Commission was ready to help Croatia in dealing with the issue of connecting Croatian territory together.

The bridge would be built to bypass a small stretch of land at Neum where Bosnia and Herzegovina has access to the Adriatic Sea, which cuts off Croatia's south from the rest of the country. (Hina)