ZAGREB, Jan 30(Hina) - Croatian President Stjepan Mesic on Friday spoke at a conference called "Croatia - How It Can Go On - Its Commitments and Possibilities" (unofficial translation). He said Croatia needed Europe and a new
development cycles which could only be achieved if everyone took a unified stand about the idea of democracy, the rule of law and human freedoms.
ZAGREB, Jan 30(Hina) - Croatian President Stjepan Mesic on Friday spoke
at a conference called "Croatia - How It Can Go On - Its Commitments
and Possibilities" (unofficial translation). He said Croatia needed
Europe and a new development cycles which could only be achieved if
everyone took a unified stand about the idea of democracy, the rule of
law and human freedoms.#L#
The two-day seminar organised by the "Miko Tripalo" Centre for
Democracy and Law, pooled some 15 well-respected scientists who will
try to launch dialogue on strategic issues of legal and political
organisation, social and economic development and Croatia's cultural
identity in the process of globalisation and European integration.
Mesic said that stability and legal security were inseparable
conditions for the further development of Croatian society. He said a
lot had been done over the past years in the strengthening of the
political stability, adding however, that a lot more had to be done in
implementing the principles of the rule of law.
"The objective is to make everybody equal before the law, to remove
all form of ethnic, religious and racial hatred and discrimination
from the public life," said Mesic, adding that Croatia was on that
path but had not yet completed it.
He said Croatia, as many other countries, was facing challenges of
global, European and regional cooperation on the foreign political
front. He said he saw Croatia as part of a wider region of the
Southeast Europe and the European Union.
Mesic said Croatia's priority was to become part of the democratic
world and bring the transition process to an end.
The scientific council's chairman, Vlado Puljiz, said for the first
time Croatia knew where it should go. "Since the country gained
independence, there has been consent that Croatia should integrate
with the European Union, however, there is no consent on how the
country should join the organisation." he said.
Attorney Damir Grubisa said it was too optimistic to expect Croatia to
join the EU by 2007, adding that negotiations with the EU would be
long and tough.
(Hina) it sb