NEW YORK NEW YORK, March 29 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader announced in New York on Sunday that he would tell US officials that Croatia wanted to join NATO within the next two to three years.
NEW YORK, March 29 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader
announced in New York on Sunday that he would tell US officials that
Croatia wanted to join NATO within the next two to three years.#L#
Sanader is in the United States to attend a ceremony on Monday
celebrating the admission of seven former Eastern Bloc countries to
NATO. He is due to meet US President George W. Bush and senior US
officials.
Sanader told Croatian reporters that in talks with Bush and other US
officials he would present Croatia's ambition "to get more than it has
in terms of an open-door policy" at a NATO summit in Istanbul in late
June.
"That's too little for us, we're not satisfied with it," Sanader said
before meeting Croatian emigrants. Croatia would like a declaration at
the Istanbul summit "stating clearly what its prospects are, or rather
that it will become a NATO member in the next two to three years."
Noting that Croatia supported Albania and Macedonia in their bids to
join the Alliance, Sanader said that each aspirant for NATO membership
"should be evaluated individually rather than within a regional
framework" as was the case with countries joining the European Union.
Sanader said that there was a great disproportion in the Croatian
public with regard to support for the EU and NATO. While nearly 80 per
cent of Croats are in favour of the country's entry into the EU, only
20-30 per cent back its NATO bid, he added.
At a meeting with Croatian emigrants in the Croatian parish of Saints
Cyril and Methodius, Sanader said that Croats living abroad were
equally responsible for the establishment of independent Croatia as
were those living in Croatia.
Speaking of the return of Croatian expatriates to their homeland,
Sanader said that his government wanted to ensure democratic stability
and create such economic conditions to make Croatian emigrants see
"that it is good to return to Croatia". He stressed that his
government wanted to create a secure environment for investment in
Croatia.
"It is important for us to create such conditions in the country that
it makes no difference to someone whether they invest their 10,000 or
a million dollars in America or in Croatia," he said.
Sanader said his government would try to remove bureaucratic obstacles
to Croatian emigrants investing in Croatia and facilitate procedures
by setting up an agency where all necessary permits could be
obtained.
The prime minister said that a political decision had been made to
introduce postal ballot to make it easier for Croatian expatriates to
vote in elections in Croatia.
He also said that Croatia would try to sign a social security
agreement with the United States, which was important for the Croatian
emigrant community.
(Hina) vm