The negotiations will start on March 17 on the condition that Gotovina is handed over to the tribunal and this must be done, Juncker said in Neumuenster abbey in Luxembourg where he met foreign committee chairmen from EU members' parliaments, the European Parliament, and candidate countries' parliaments.
Juncker recalled that the final decision on the negotiations would be made by the Union's foreign ministers on Wednesday. He said that no consensus had been reached on launching the negotiations for the time being.
The conditions have not been met, he said, recalling the conclusions reached at the European summit last December, when EU leaders set March 17 as the date of Croatia's entry talks provided that Zagreb cooperated fully with the Hague tribunal.