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ZAGREB, Jan. 1-- Croatia began to preside over the Council of the European Union (EU) on Wednesday, the first time since its EU accession in July 2013. In his New Year's message, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic mentioned Tuesday that the presidency will further enhance the political and economic affirmation of Croatia in 2020, and that the new year will be a year of further economic development and international positioning of Croatia. The government adopted a program for the presidency on Dec. 27, 2019 at the last cabinet session of the year. The slogan of the presidency will be "A strong Europe in a world of challenges". The program is based on four pillars: "a Europe that develops, a Europe that connects, a Europe that protects, and a Europe that is influential". Plenkovic stressed that the program contains Croatia's national priorities and is in line with the new strategic agenda of the EU for the 2019 to 2024 period. The program says that Croatia's presidency will support "a balanced, sustainable and inclusive growth of the EU that takes account of the specificities and needs of all member-countries, their regions and citizens", Croatian news agency HINA reported. Croatia will "encourage policies directed at promoting the EU's infrastructure connectivity and at bringing its citizens closer, primarily through education, culture, and sports." The document also says that the presidency will advocate "the continuation of consistent, effective and credible enlargement policy, as an investment in the stability, security and further economic development and connectivity of the European continent." | 
