The deputies met in Brussels as part of preparations for a regular meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee scheduled to take place in Dubrovnik on March 20-21.
Allan Jones from the European Commission Directorate-General for Enlargement said he was pleased with the process of screening, the in-depth analysis of the adjustment of Croatian legislation to European legal standards, and underlined that the Croatian side was very well prepared. The screening of 14 out of the 35 chapters of the acquis communautaire is expected to be completed by the end of this month.
Speaking of the key challenges awaiting Croatia, Jones mentioned judicial reform, the fight against corruption, and cuts in state subsidies. He said nine per cent of Croatian GDP went towards state subsidies, which is higher than in any EU member state.
Croatian Ambassador to the EU Branko Baricevic said Croatia supported the creation of a free trade zone in Southeast Europe through the enlargement of the Central European Free Trade Agreement, and agreed that the judicial reform represented the biggest challenge facing Croatia.
He announced that European Parliament President Josep Borrel would visit Croatia in mid-April.
One of the chairs of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, Pal Schmitt of Hungary, said that Croatia had a bigger per capita assistance than all previous EU accession candidate states. Croatia receives 43 euros per capita annually whereas previous candidates received 27, which is good and should remain so, he said.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee was set up after Zagreb was granted EU membership candidate status. It is comprised of 15 members of the European Parliament and 15 members of the Croatian Parliament.