ZAGREB, March 18 (Hina) - Croatia is entering a decisive period because this year it will either join Rumania and Bulgaria and make major progress towards the EU, or will sink and remain among Western Balkan countries which will not
be able to meet requirements for admission for a number of years, Croatian parliament vice-president Zdravko Tomac said on Tuesday.
ZAGREB, March 18 (Hina) - Croatia is entering a decisive period
because this year it will either join Rumania and Bulgaria and make
major progress towards the EU, or will sink and remain among Western
Balkan countries which will not be able to meet requirements for
admission for a number of years, Croatian parliament vice-
president Zdravko Tomac said on Tuesday. #L#
The head of the parliament's foreign policy committee said this in a
telephone conversation with Hina from Brussels, where, together
with the chairman of the committee on European integration, Mate
Granic, he participated in a session of the European Parliament
focusing on the new EU strategy for south-eastern Europe.
"Both Granic and I said that Croatia had reached a point which it
will either pass and join Rumania and Bulgaria, or it will sink and
remain among Western Balkan countries which will not meet the
conditions for many years," said Tomac. He stressed that numerous
European parliamentarians had said that some countries in the
region, primarily Bosnia and Serbia and Montenegro, did not even
meet the formal conditions for the start of talks with the EU, as
they were not clearly defined as states.
The Croatian officials stated during talks with European officials
that Croatia was by far ahead of that environment, that it was
capable of fulfilling all obligations from the Stabilisation and
Association Agreement by 2007, and was prepared to start
negotiations on membership next year.
"We will meet all requirements concerning us, but we said that we
were aware of the fact that the region and the linking of our fate to
it could be a millstone around our neck, which we do not wish,
because our obligation is to develop regional cooperation, but not
share the fate of the region," said Tomac.
It is in Croatia's interest for the entire region to stabilise and
for countries in it to follow it soon, which requires greater
international assistance, Tomac said, suggesting in the European
Parliament that those countries be given the same status as Turkey,
which is not officially a candidate, but is allowed to use certain
funds as if it were.
"It is important to stress that all countries in the Stabilisation
and Association Process have endorsed the individual approach and
did not oppose Croatia's lobbying and requests that we separate
from them and join Rumania and Bulgaria," Tomac said.
Tomac and Granic will on Wednesday be joined in Brussels by
parliament president Zlatko Tomcic who will lead Croatian
officials at numerous meetings at the European Parliament,
including the one with its president Pat Cox.
(hina) lml sb