ZAGREB, March 13 (Hina) - Croatia expects the European Union's support to its candidacy for EU membership at a June summit in Salonika, a positive response next year, and the evaluation of aspirants on an individual basis,
particularly in light of the latest developments in the region, said Zdravko Tomac and Mate Granic, the heads of the parliamentary foreign affairs and European integration committees, after their meeting with EU commissioner Chris Patten.
ZAGREB, March 13 (Hina) - Croatia expects the European Union's
support to its candidacy for EU membership at a June summit in
Salonika, a positive response next year, and the evaluation of
aspirants on an individual basis, particularly in light of the
latest developments in the region, said Zdravko Tomac and Mate
Granic, the heads of the parliamentary foreign affairs and European
integration committees, after their meeting with EU commissioner
Chris Patten. #L#
"We fear the repercussions of what happened and we would like to
stress the need of applying the individual approach. We are for
regional cooperation, but we do not want Croatia to share the fate
of countries in the region," said Tomac, the chairman of the foreign
affairs committee, after meeting Patten in Zagreb on Thursday.
The Croatian parliamentarian said he was afraid that the biggest
problem in the region in the wake of the killing of Serbian Premier
Zoran Djindjic would be the stability of the region, and urged that
everything should be done to make it possible for processes towards
the EU to continue.
According to the Croatian MPs, participants in the closed-door
meeting of the two committees with Patten severely deplored
Wednesday's crime in Belgrade, and pointed to connections among
underground circles and those who would like to thwart the further
democratisation of Serbia.
They also admitted that Croatia had its own problems on the path
towards the EU, but they were not of the same nature as problems of
other countries in the region. The participants in the meeting
agree that there is a general consensus that Zagreb can meet all
necessary requirements to join the EU, together with Romania and
Bulgaria in 2007.
Asked about Croatia's cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal,
the European commissioner for foreign affairs, Chris Patten, said
that last week he had talked with the tribunal's Chief Prosecutor
Carla Del Ponte and that they had concluded that there were some
problems but they were not insoluble.
According to a statement released by the parliament's press office,
Patten said that despite progress, one had to continue insisting on
the rule of law, cooperation with the tribunal, the return of
refugees and the continuation of reforms.
The chairman of the European integration committee, Mate Granic,
said that Zagreb had not made any serious omissions in that context
and that problems regarding documents requested by the tribunal
were of a temporary nature.
"All Croatian generals and all former political officials wanted by
the tribunal have said they are willing to co-operate and go to The
Hague," Granic said. Asked whether this referred to the fugitive
general Ante Gotovina, Granic answered that his case was not
mentioned at the meeting with Patten.
(hina) ms sb