ZAGREB, March 19 (Hina) - A war in Iraq should not slow down Croatia's drawing closer to the EU, parliament president Zlatko Tomcic said ahead of flying to Brussels on Wednesday morning.
ZAGREB, March 19 (Hina) - A war in Iraq should not slow down
Croatia's drawing closer to the EU, parliament president Zlatko
Tomcic said ahead of flying to Brussels on Wednesday morning. #L#
"I believe the foreign minister will signal to the European
Commission in April to consider Croatia's candidacy for full
membership," Tomcic told reporters at Zagreb's Pleso airport.
He said this year should be used to win support for Croatia's
candidacy.
"All the signals of encouragement we are receiving should be used so
that Croatia could board the train for admission to the EU in
2007."
While in Brussels, Tomcic should meet European Parliament
president Pat Cox, the president of the Belgian parliament's House
of Representatives, Herman de Croo, the head of the European
Parliament's delegation for South East Europe, Doris Pack, and the
chairman of the European People's Party-European Democrats Group,
Hans-Gert Peottering.
Tomcic declined to comment on a statement U.S. Ambassador to
Croatia Lawrence Rossin made in the latest issue of Globus weekly to
the effect that he was convinced Croatia would suffer the fallout
from not joining the anti-Iraq coalition led by the United States.
Rossin said in the Globus interview he did not know what the
consequences would be, but that they were unavoidable. He said that
in a matter of war and peace, Croatia's government had chosen to
skirt its responsibility and play a background part.
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