The Austrian print media did not carry the address to the nation which Croatian President Stjepan Mesic's made regarding this issue last night.
Mesic spoke against the government's position that it is necessary to ratify the agreement and underlined that all issues stemming from World War Two were regulated by bilateral agreements signed by the former communist Yugoslavia. He said that as a successor, Croatia did not have obligations such as those contained in the latest agreement on returning property seized to Germans in Croatia.
Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel told the Croatian RTL TV station on Friday that given the joint interests and good relations between Croatia and Austria, he was certain the agreement would be ratified and that Prime Minister Ivo Sanader would find the required parliamentary majority.