"The EU Presidency believes that Croatia must prove its full cooperation with the Hague tribunal by March 17. If Gotovina is transferred to The Hague by March 17, the talks can start right away, but if not, we will wait until Croatia fulfils its obligation of full cooperation," Juncker said at a news conference he held with Del Ponte.
Juncker stressed that Gotovina was playing a dangerous game and that he had no right to hold Croats hostage.
He called on the runaway general to prove that he is a real patriot and appear before the tribunal thus making it possible for Croatia to start talks on EU membership.
Juncker told reporters that Del Ponte had informed him today of her position on Croatia's cooperation with the tribunal, but that she would submit an additional report to the EU's Council of Ministers by February 21, which would help it make the final decision on Croatia's EU entry talks.
The Council's decision will considerably depend on Del Ponte's assessment, Juncker added.
The chief prosecutor of the Hague tribunal said she expected Gotovina in The Hague as soon as possible so that he could be put on trial with generals Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac, whose indictment is identical to Gotovina's.
Del Ponte said she was confident Croatia could do this and recalled that she had called on Croatian authorities to meet their international obligations on many occasions.
Asked if she would recommend that the EU start membership talks with Croatia if Gotovina was not handed over, Del Ponte would not give a direct answer, stating only that she would present her assessments and facts regarding Croatia's cooperation when requested to do so.
Asked about the latest efforts of the Croatian government to locate and arrest Gotovina, Juncker said he had the impression that Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader wanted to do his utmost to arrest Gotovina if the general was on Croatian territory, but added that he could not make any final decisions on the value of those efforts.
Asked if there was a plan B for Croatia if Gotovina was not handed over by March 17, Juncker said that there was no plan B, C or D but only plan A, which was determined by the European Council which made Croatia's EU entry talks conditional on its full cooperation with the tribunal.
The meeting between Juncker and Del Ponte was also attended by Luxembourg Foreign Minister and EU Council of Ministers chairman Jean Asselborn.