The report, carried by the Zagreb company BonLine, reads that the talks were to start on March 17, but were proponed, among other things, because of the failure to extradite runaway Hague war crimes indictee Ante Gotovina.
D&B analysts estimate that the EU's decision on the postponement of the talks could harm the government led by Ivo Sanader, who they say during 15 months in power has staked his prestige on EU accession talks beginning on time. They also add that the extradition of "such a popular figure (among Croats)" would almost certainly inflict significant damage on the Sanader government.
Of economic events, the report mentions only a dispute between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina regarding the application of a free trade agreement.
Among the 25 monitored countries, Croatia is 11th and it is the only country with the rating DB4d, which indicates moderate investment risk. It is preceded by Bulgaria and Romania with the rating DB4c.
The list is headed by Slovenia with the rating DB2c, which indicates low investment risk. The bottom of the list is occupied by Albania, Belarus, Bosnia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan with the rating DB6d indicating very high investment risk.