The two Croatian officials are taking part in an informal meeting of the European Union Council for Justice and the Interior.
The talks focused on the expected start of Croatia's negotiations on EU membership and cooperation with the Hague tribunal, Skare Ozbolt said and added that she informed the foreign officials that Croatia was fully cooperating with the UN tribunal, giving concrete examples of that cooperation.
During the first part of the meeting, the Croatian ministers held bilateral talks with European Commissioner for Justice Franco Frattini and the justice ministers of Luxembourg and Slovenia, Luc Frieden and Lovro Sturm respectively. They are also to meet Minister Brigitte Zypries of Germany and Minister Charles Clark of Great Britain.
Commissioner Frattini told a news conference he received assurances about Croatia's full cooperation with the Hague tribunal. It is of critical importance for candidate countries, such as Croatia, to fully and transparently cooperate with the Hague tribunal, Frattini said.
We want Croatia in the European Union, but we expect from the country to invest great efforts in meeting European criteria, Frattini said, adding that this also included cooperation in preventing and combating all forms of organised crime, notably drug and people trafficking.
Full cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague is one of the key conditions for the start of EU entry talks. Under a decision by the European Council, negotiations with Croatia will start on 17 March on condition Croatia fully cooperates with the Hague tribunal.