Asked if the position of the centre-left government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi on the opening of Croatia's real estate market would be different from the position of the centre-right government of Silvio Berlusconi, D'Alema said that the issue of real estate was neither a leftist nor a rightist one.
"Asking that the Croatian real estate market be open also to Italians is neither rightist nor leftist. It is a right for Italians and I do not understand why only Germans should be entitled to buy a house in Croatia. If Croatia wants to have relations with the European Union, and Italy is a European Union country, discrimination against Italian nationals cannot be accepted. What Italy is asking for can be regulated on the basis of common sense," D'Alema said.
This issue is not expected to affect Italy's support to Croatia's integration with the EU. "We certainly support Europe's opening to Croatia, just as we were among the first to support the expansion of the EU to Slovenia," D'Alema said, adding that Italy supported the integration of the entire Western Balkans with the EU.
He also announced that Italy would care for Montenegro and that the process of disintegration of the former Yugoslavia was still not over because Kosovo's status was still undefined.
As for the EU's opening to Serbia, D'Alema said that Serbia had to establish full cooperation with the Hague tribunal and meet the same criteria that were met by Croatia, as double standards were unacceptable.