The EU calls on Croatia to take all the necessary steps to ensure full cooperation with the tribunal and reiterates that the last remaining indictee must be located and transferred to The Hague as soon as possible, said Georges Santer on behalf of the chairman of the EU Council of Ministers and thus reiterated the last conclusions of the ministerial council on this matter.
All of us know that this country has done a lot in cooperation with the Hague tribunal, Santer said.
We are looking forward to Croatia's becoming a part of the European family and we hope that this last problem can be solved, he said, adding that they could not imagine Europe without Croatia.
Asked by reporters why a majority of European countries do not believe in the Croatian government's statements that general Gotovina is not in Croatia and that therefore Zagreb cannot hand him over, Santer said that some of EU member states believe that the awareness that this is really a problem has been raised a little too late.
David Daly, who is representing the European Commission at the Zagreb sessions and who is in charge of Croatia's EU entry talks, said that all in the EC would like to see the start of Croatia's entry talks in mid-March, but stressed that this also implied Croatia's full cooperation with the Hague tribunal.
Johannes Swoboda, the European Parliament's rapporteur for Croatia, told the meeting that Croatia had made great progress and that he thought that it would be disappointing not only for politicians but also for ordinary citizens if the talks did not start on 17 March. In his opinion, in order to open the entry talks on 17 March, it is also necessary not only for Croatia but also for the EU to do all it can.
The Zagreb meeting ends on Friday with the adoption of a joint declaration.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee was set up following a March 2004 European Parliament decision on the appointment of a special delegation for relations with Croatia and a 15 October 2004 Croatian Parliament decision.
Attending the current two-day session are 12 deputies from the most important political groups in the EU, and the European Parliament's rapporteur for Croatia, Austrian Johannes Swoboda , Santer on behalf of the EU Council of Ministers chairman, and Daly, who represents the European Commission and is in charge of Croatia's EU entry talks.
Chairing the session are Gordan Jandrokovic, chairman of Croatia's foreign affairs parliamentary committee, and Pal Schmitt of Hungary, representative of the European People's Party (EPP) in the European Parliament.
The delegation of the European Parliament that is attending the Zagreb meeting was received by Prime Minister Ivo Sanader on Thursday, and will be received by President Stjepan Mesic on Friday.