ZAGREB, March 9 (Hina) - European Parliament president Pat Cox's statement that Croatia might be admitted to the EU in 2007 alongside Romania and Bulgaria is very significant as "it's not just a formal statement but one backed by a
certain activity," the chairman of the Croatian parliament's foreign affairs committee said on Sunday.
ZAGREB, March 9 (Hina) - European Parliament president Pat Cox's
statement that Croatia might be admitted to the EU in 2007 alongside
Romania and Bulgaria is very significant as "it's not just a formal
statement but one backed by a certain activity," the chairman of the
Croatian parliament's foreign affairs committee said on Sunday.
#L#
"Behind Cox's statement is the will and desire for the most
responsible people at the European Parliament to help Croatia, if
it meets all conditions, to escape the Western Balkans, to avoid the
fate of those countries, which will not enter the EU for a long
time," Zdravko Tomac told state radio.
He announced Cox would receive him, Croatian parliament president
Zlatko Tomcic, and the chairman of parliament's European
integration committee, Mate Granic, on March 19. Tomac and Granic
will answer questions from members on the European Parliament's
foreign affairs committee, while Tomcic will meet with the chiefs
of all parliamentary factions.
Said Granic, "What Cox has said is very encouraging because it means
that Croatia is already being considered a serious candidate and
that...this decision will be made next year."
Cox told Portugal's weekly Expresso, which hit the newsstands on
Saturday, that after the possible of admission of Romania,
Bulgaria, and Croatia in 2007, the European Union would stop
enlarging at 28 members.
Cox is the first senior European official to include Croatia among
the candidates for the next admission round.
(hina) ha