PARIS PARIS, April 6 (Hina) - France supports Croatia's efforts to enter the European Union, it is willing to intensify economic relations with Croatia and therefore it calls on Zagreb to simplify its regulations so as to facilitate
cooperation. These are conclusions of talks which Croatian President Stjepan Mesic and French President Jacques Chirac held in Paris on Tuesday afternoon.
PARIS, April 6 (Hina) - France supports Croatia's efforts to enter the
European Union, it is willing to intensify economic relations with
Croatia and therefore it calls on Zagreb to simplify its regulations
so as to facilitate cooperation. These are conclusions of talks which
Croatian President Stjepan Mesic and French President Jacques Chirac
held in Paris on Tuesday afternoon.#L#
After the meeting in the Elysee Palace which lasted 90 minutes,
although it was scheduled to take 45 minutes, Mesic told reporters
that he and his interlocutor had discussed a serious of topics
including the situation in the region and bilateral cultural
cooperation the strengthening of which would be confirmed by an
exhibition on Croatian Renaissance which would be open near Paris on
Wednesday.
"France supports Croatia. France also supports the acceleration of
European integration and we expect to enjoy this support in the future
too," Mesic said answering a reporter's question whether Croatia can
count on a positive French stand on Croatia's EU membership
application.
According to a press release issued by the French side, Paris expect
the European Commission to give a report (on Croatia's application)
this spring and that this 'avis' will have a key role in defining the
European Union's response to Croatia's candidacy.
In this sense President Chirac said he appreciated Croatia' efforts
aimed at meeting the requests from the Hague-based UN tribunal.
The French foreign ministry, which announced Mesic's visit on Monday,
pointed to friendly relations between the two countries.
This visit shows close, friendly relations and trust established
between France and Croatia, the ministry said.
President Mesic told reporters that Paris was particularly interested
in manners in which Croatia was solving outstanding issues with its
neighbouring ocuntries.
Croatia's admission to the EU will help to calm down the entire
region, as this will prove that those who meet standards can join the
EU, Mesic said.
He went on to say that French employers were interested in investing
in Croatia, but they encountered too many administrative obstacles. In
this context Chirac called on Croatia to render regulations simpler in
order to facilitate bilateral economic cooperation, Mesic added.
An assistant spokeswoman for the French presidency announced a visit
of a delegation of the French employers to Croatia for July.
The Elysee Palace pointed out that this was Mesic's fifth visit to
France.
After the talks with Chirac, Croatia's head of state met the European
Convention chairman, Valery Giscard D'Estaing.
(Hina) ms