I believe it is very important for Europe to integrate Croatia into the EU, which is why Belgium wants to help Croatia as much as possible, State Secretary for European Affairs in the Belgian Foreign Ministry Didier Donfut said on Tuesday after talks with Croatian European Integration Minister Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic.
Donfut and Grabar Kitarovic spoke about forms of cooperation and assistance to Croatia in negotiations with the EU on full membership.
Croatia became an EU candidate country in June, and on October 6 the European Commission revealed a pre-accession strategy, suggesting that Zagreb be given EUR245 million from pre-accession funds for the next two years.
Minister Grabar Kitarovic said the Croatian delegation presented Belgian officials with a document specifying areas in which Croatia needs assistance. She said she also informed the Belgian officials of possible problematic areas in the negotiating process.
"We asked Belgium not only for financial assistance but also for expert help," Grabar Kitarovic said.
Belgium is willing to assist Croatia through the TAIEX programme. TAIEX. is the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange unit of the European Commission. Its aim is to provide to the new member states, candidate countries, and the administrations of the Western Balkans, short-term technical assistance, in line with the overall policy objectives of the European Commission, and in the field of approximation, application and enforcement of EU legislation.
Belgium expressed its readiness to assist Croatia in the fields of judiciary, interior affairs, agriculture, food quality, social issues and labour market reform, the Croatian minister said.
Grabar Kitarovic will leave Brussels today and travel to Madrid where she will hold similar talks with her Spanish colleagues. She is also scheduled to give a talk on Croatia's European integration process and the use of pre-accession funds.