After the launching of Croatia's EU entry talks, we have received a number of requests from Brussels, he said. First it is necessary to evaluate progress made on the ground, then to allocate financial assistance, and then invest intensive efforts into improving the quality of information and communication with the media and the public, Degert said.
Croatia also has to deal with difficulties, primarily it has to implement everything that has been adopted and agreed, the EC official said. The country also has to establish border control, provide food and health safety and adopt environmental protection regulations, Degert said, adding that Croatia must continue to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Degert said Croatia has an advantage because it could use the experience of the ten new EU member states which joined the Union last year. He said the European Commission had been preparing itself for years and was intensively cooperating with the Croatian ministries of justice, transport and the interior.
He said the EU would start the negotiations with Croatia about more complex chapters and the end of the negotiations would focus on finance and the regional policy so that it could be decided how much money Croatia would receive from structural funds.