I have nothing to add. I have no further comments on the matter, EC spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen said on Thursday when reporters asked her if the main reason why the EC was declining to comment on Napolitano's words was the fact that it did not comment on statements made by the head of state of a European Union member.
If we comment on something, we do so because we believe that it is appropriate, which is why we commented yesterday the way we did, the spokeswoman said.
"My job is to say the position of the Commission and its President and this is what I have done". If I do not want to say anything more than what I said, it means that it is the position of the Commission and the EC president, Ahrenkilde Hansen said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, she told a regular news conference that the language used by the Croatian president seemed inappropriate. When pressed by a reporter to say if she also found inappropriate words such as "bloodthirsty hatred", which were used by the Italian president, the spokeswoman said: "No comment."
Asked by reporters on Thursday if the Commission's position was that the events during and in the wake of the Second World War in Istria were the result "of bloodthirsty Slav expansionism and a plan for ethnic cleansing", the spokeswoman said that the Commission "is not entering into" historical discussions nor would enter into them.
Ahrenkilde Hansen said that in her statements on Wednesday and Thursday she made no mention of any consequences for Croatia's bid to join the European Union.
I believe I have made no mention of any consequences, she said, adding that she only mentioned the well-known criterion that every acceding country was assessed according to its own merits.
Statements by the European Commission spokeswoman are extremely one-sided and unacceptable, Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said today at a press conference on the latest developments in Croatian-Italian relations.
"The statements made yesterday by the EC spokeswoman are extremely one-sided and unacceptable. I assume that she did not have all the facts which here are the merit of the thing. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration will therefore send the EC all relevant information," Sanader said.
On Wednesday the office of the Croatian President Mesic issued a statement describing Hansen's statement as one-sided and unfair.
Speaking about the victims of the foibe, karst pits into which Partisans threw Italians after executions in the aftermath of WWII, Napolitano said last Saturday that the drama of the foibe was the result of "the barbarism of the century" and "Slavic bloodthirsty hatred" and territorial aspirations.
On Monday Mesic responded by saying that Napolitano's statement contained elements of open racism, historical revisionism and political revenge-seeking.
The Croatian government has so far issued two statements on this situation, seeking to find, in line with its obligations and powers and in coordination with the President of the Republic, a way out of it through diplomatic means, Sanader said. He added that Zagreb and Rome would continue their dialogue which so far had been friendly.
Speaking about Croatia's position on historical events, Sanader said that it was based on objective facts and that Croatia had condemned all crimes on a number of occasions.