ZAGREB, May 12 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul is attending a session of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers that takes place in Strasbourg on Wednesday and Thursday, the Foreign Ministry said in a
statement.
ZAGREB, May 12 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul is
attending a session of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers
that takes place in Strasbourg on Wednesday and Thursday, the Foreign
Ministry said in a statement.#L#
The foreign ministers of 45 Council of Europe member states are
discussing the reform of the European Court of Human Rights, the third
summit of the Council of Europe, the Council's contribution to the
international struggle against terrorism and current political
issues.
The Committee of Ministers on Wednesday adopted the text of Protocol
14 attached to the European Convention on Human Rights that will
enable greater efficiency of the Human Rights Court and reduce the
backlog of cases. The Protocol will be open for signing as of May 13,
the statement said.
In his address to the Committee, Zuzul welcomed the recent enlargement
of the European Union and expressed hope that the EU Council would
confirm the recommendations contained in the European Commission's
opinion of April 20 on Croatia's EU membership application and set a
date for the start of membership talks with Croatia.
The Croatian minister welcomed the adoption of Protocol 14 and said
that the reform of the European Human Rights Court would not diminish
the rights of individuals to an individual claim, but would give the
Court additional mechanisms to ensure a timely and efficient
protection of the rights of individuals, the statement said.
Zuzul said that Croatia was ready to sign Protocol 14, adding that it
would be his country's contribution to the further work of the
Strasbourg-based Court.
On Wednesday evening, Zuzul is scheduled to attend an informal meeting
of ministers, which would also involve Council of Europe Secretary
General Walter Schwimmer and UN Kosovo Administrator Harri Holkeri.
On the margins of the meeting of the Committee of Ministers, Zuzul had
separate meetings with Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomio, Irish
Minister for European Affairs Dick Roche, Slovak Foreign Minister
Eduard Kukan and Latvian Foreign Minister Rihards Piks.
During the talks with the four ministers Zuzul received promises that
Finland, Ireland, Slovakia and Latvia would support Croatia's efforts
to obtain candidate status and a date for the start of entry talks at
the EU Council summit due to take place in Brussels in mid-June.
The Committee of Ministers continues its session on Thursday and the
Croatian delegation led by Zuzul will be attending.
(Hina) vm