In all European countries, including Germany, it has become clear that after the admission of new members to the European Union there should be a longer pause in the enlargement process. It would be a phase of stabilisation and consolidation of the European Union. However, the opinion prevails that before that phase Croatia, as a classic Central European country, should certainly be admitted to the EU as the 28th member state, Stoiber told a press conference after the meeting, with Sanader at his side.
Croatia has made impressive economic and democratic progress during the term of the government of Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, whom Europe sees as a guarantor of democratic development in Croatia, the Bavarian premier said.
Stoiber expressed conviction that during the current six-month Finnish presidency of the European Union, and particularly during the German term after that, guidelines would be set for the speedy accession of Croatia to the bloc. He pledged full support from Bavaria and the CSU in achieving that objective.
Sanader said that their meeting focused on bilateral relations, which he described as excellent. He noted that 100,000 Croats lived in Bavaria and that hundreds of thousands of people came every year from Bavaria and elsewhere in Germany to spend their summer holidays on the Croatian Adriatic coast.
Sanader cited Croatia's EU membership bid as the most important topic of their talks, saying that he had thanked Stoiber for the clear support of the CSU, the Bavarian government and the German government, in which the CSU is a coalition partner.
I informed the Bavarian premier of the course of EU membership talks and we both expressed hope that the process would be effective and fast. Croatia can count on Bavaria's full support, Sanader said.
Sanader also expressed hope that economic cooperation between Croatia and Bavaria would continue to grow.