ZAGREB, Jan 17 (Hina) - Friday's summit of the Quadrilaterale, which gathered the prime ministers of Italy, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia in Zagreb, ended with the adoption of a joint statement which notes full support to Croatia's
bids to enter the European Union.
ZAGREB, Jan 17 (Hina) - Friday's summit of the Quadrilaterale,
which gathered the prime ministers of Italy, Hungary, Slovenia and
Croatia in Zagreb, ended with the adoption of a joint statement
which notes full support to Croatia's bids to enter the European
Union. #L#
Croatian PM Ivica Racan described the meeting as "substantial and
successful" and thanked for the support to Croatia's plans to
"submit an application for EU membership".
"We strongly supported the process of Europe's integration and
stated that cooperation between the members of the Quadrilaterale
was along the line of making that integration process more
substantial", Racan said at a joint press conference.
He advocated the resumption of the open door policy of the EU and
NATO, stating that "countries in South-East Europe will solve their
current problems to the extent they are offered the prospect of
integration into Europe".
The PM said that participants in today's meeting had agreed to
expand existing relations within the Quadrilaterale by introducing
new elements regarding integration processes, economic
cooperation, cooperation in defence and peace operations, the
joint fight against organised crime, cooperation in the protection
of the environment and cultural and scientific cooperation.
Some concrete projects, such as cooperation between northern
Adriatic ports were supported as well, Racan said, adding that
discussions on cooperation in sports resulted in a proposal on
organising soccer matches between the countries of the
Quadrilaterale.
The summit was also commended by its other three participants,
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Hungary's Peter
Medgyessy and Slovenia's Anton Rop. The three premiers guaranteed
full support for Croatia's speedy admission to Euro-Atlantic
associations.
Berlusconi gave Racan assurances that Italy would fully support
Croatia in its efforts to become a full EU and NATO member.
Asked when the Italian parliament would ratify the Stabilisation
and Association Agreement between Croatia and the EU, Berlusconi
did not give a specific answer, but reiterated that Italy would
support Croatia's candidacy.
Berlusconi, too, advocated the Union's open door policy, stating
that the EU Summit in Copenhagen had tackled the future EU borders
extending to Belorussia and Israel, because Europe would be able to
compete on an equal footing with the United States only if it
expanded its borders to said countries.
Hungary's Medgyessy said that the issue of facilitating Croatia's
admission to the EU and NATO was in the focus of the
Quadrilaterale's interest. It was therefore proposed at today's
summit that a pre-integration programme should be devised to help
Croatia's integration, he added.
Slovene PM Anton Rop said the participants reached a high level of
agreement and were unanimous that Croatia belonged in the EU.
Commenting on Slovenia's presidency of the Quadrilaterale in 2003,
Rop said that cooperation between the four countries would focus on
economy and regional development.
The four PMs issued a joint statement, called the Zagreb
Declaration, voicing strong support for Croatia's EuroAtlantic
aspirations and announcing closer cooperation in areas of mutual
interest.
Racan and Rop held a brief meeting at which they agreed on the need
to gradually resolve open questions between their respective
countries. The two officials also agreed to meet soon.
Before they leave Zagreb, the guests at the summit will attend a
working dinner with President Stjepan Mesic.
(hina) rml sb