ZAGREB, April 14 (Hina) - The leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Ivica Racan, has said that he has information on the European Commission having drafted a positive opinion on Croatia's candidacy for membership in the
European Union and that the only remaining question is the date of its publication.
ZAGREB, April 14 (Hina) - The leader of the Social Democratic Party
(SDP), Ivica Racan, has said that he has information on the European
Commission having drafted a positive opinion on Croatia's candidacy
for membership in the European Union and that the only remaining
question is the date of its publication.#L#
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Racan said it was
irrelevant if the opinion (the so-called avis) would be made public
this or next month.
He described as unfair a statement by Britain's Minister for Europe
Denis MacShane who said that Great Britain would not vote for a
positive Croatian avis until the case of the runaway general Ante
Gotovina was solved. He voiced confidence that the position of an
individual EU member could not prevent a country from obtaining a
positive avis, but added that it could hamper the continuation of
integration into the EU, including the obtaining of candidate status
and the start of negotiations on membership.
Racan reiterated that both the former and incumbent Croatian
authorities had done everything to arrest Gotovina and hand him over
to the UN war crimes tribunal. "It is therefore unfair for Gotovina to
be an obstacle to a positive avis and Croatia a hostage to one man
whose case it wants, but cannot solve".
It is also unacceptable to criticise Croatia over Gotovina and ascribe
credit for the voluntary surrender of six Croats to the UN tribunal to
individuals, he added.
The SDP leader believes that Great Britain will have understanding for
Croatia and support its efforts to draw closer to the EU, because, he
said, Croatia had deserved this in the last four years.
"Support for the avis would be not only a gesture of goodwill towards
Croatia, but an optimistic message to the entire region".
Asked if a negative avis could lead to a national coalition of the SDP
and the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Racan said this was
hypothetically possible, but only on two conditions - that this is
vital for the protection of democracy in Croatia and the country's
prospects and that the coalition partner is a democratic party.
"For the time being, I don't see any circumstances calling for such a
coalition, and we do not see a reformed HDZ. We do see a reformed
Sanader, but not a reformed HDZ," he added.
He commended the HDZ's policy on the foreign front, but slammed its
policy on the home front because of lack of an economic strategy and
democratic conduct.
"Sanader is a good politician who talks nicely and is good at covering
up his government's tricks, but that can't last long because fine
words butter no parsnips," Racan said.
Speaking about relations with the UN war crimes tribunal, Racan said
Croatia would best be defended with the truth and readiness to face
the facts. "We were brave in the defence from aggression and the
struggle for our independence, and we have to be brave in confronting
the truth and facts which reveal the dark side of our recent history,"
he said.
(Hina) rml sb