ZAGREB, April 14 (Hina) - The chief prosecutor of the UN war crimes tribunal, Carla Del Ponte, on Wednesday talked on the phone with the EU's enlargement commissioner, Guenter Verheugen, about Croatia's cooperation with the tribunal,
Del Ponte's spokeswoman Florence Hartmann told Hina.
ZAGREB, April 14 (Hina) - The chief prosecutor of the UN war crimes
tribunal, Carla Del Ponte, on Wednesday talked on the phone with the
EU's enlargement commissioner, Guenter Verheugen, about Croatia's
cooperation with the tribunal, Del Ponte's spokeswoman Florence
Hartmann told Hina.#L#
The European Commission has said that it will publish its opinion on
Croatia's application for EU membership next Tuesday, after a session
in Strasbourg. Cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal is one of
the preconditions for a positive avis.
Hartmann would not reveal any details of the talks between Del Ponte
and Verheugen. The UN tribunal's chief prosecutor does not have any
visit to Brussels scheduled until Tuesday.
Great Britain and the Netherlands, which have not ratified Croatia's
Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU, have been
consistently repeating that a positive assessment by Del Ponte of
Croatia's cooperation with the tribunal is a precondition for a
positive avis.
The EC will forward its opinion to the European Council, which makes
the final decisions on granting candidate status and on the date of
the start of negotiations on full membership.
(Hina) rml sb