VIENNA, March 9 (Hina) - The chairman of the Austrian Parliament's National Council, Andreas Kohl, said at a meeting with Croatian Parliament President Vladimir Seks in Vienna on Tuesday that his country strongly supported Croatia's
integration into the European Union.
VIENNA, March 9 (Hina) - The chairman of the Austrian Parliament's
National Council, Andreas Kohl, said at a meeting with Croatian
Parliament President Vladimir Seks in Vienna on Tuesday that his
country strongly supported Croatia's integration into the European
Union.#L#
"Croatia should join the EU as soon as possible. We will do all we can
to have Croatia in the European family as soon as possible," said Kohl
after meeting Seks.
The Austrian official voiced confidence that the Croatian government
led by PM Ivo Sanader would meet all requirements for EU membership,
including cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal as the key
political requirement.
Seks confirmed this claim, adding that "over the past two months, we
have been convincing everybody in Europe and the rest of the world,
and we continue to do so, that we have met the lion's share of the
Copenhagen criteria and political conditions with the aim of obtaining
a positive opinion (on Croatia's EU membership application)".
"We are also meeting specific requirements, including full cooperation
with the Hague tribunal," Seks said.
The two officials also discussed property restitution, i.e. the
payment of compensation to Austrians who left Croatia in the wake of
World War II, as the only open issue between the two countries. The
parliaments of the two countries are expected to ratify an agreement
on compensation by the end of this year.
(Hina) rml sb