MADRID MEETING OF NATO AND PARTNERS MADRID, June 3 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula on arrived in Madrid on Tuesday to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of NATO member and partner countries, where he should inform
his colleagues of the results Croatia has achieved on its path towards membership to the Alliance.
MADRID, June 3 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula on
arrived in Madrid on Tuesday to attend a meeting of foreign
ministers of NATO member and partner countries, where he should
inform his colleagues of the results Croatia has achieved on its
path towards membership to the Alliance. #L#
"I shall put an emphasis on the continuation of the reform in the
armed forces that is inseparable from the process of
democratisation," Picula said upon his arrival in Madrid.
Commenting on relations between Croatia and the EU and NATO, Picula
pointed out that it was vital and possible to retain partnership
with the EU and NATO.
Croatia needs to do a great deal more not only to ensure its
membership to these two organisations but also to complete its
transition process, which would not have been possible without its
partnership with the EU and NATO, the minister explained.
Speaking about the division between these two organisations
concerning the war in Iraq, Picula said he believed that this would
be overcome soon and it was now easier for Croatia to think about
some sort of engagement in Iraq because there was a basis for this in
the UN Security Council's resolution.
The doors are opening for Croatian forces to participate in Iraq
however the scope and details need to be decided politically at the
appropriate level, Picula said.
In the Spanish capital Minister held a brief bilateral meeting with
Dutch colleague Jaap Hoop Scheffer. The Netherlands is currently
chairing the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE). The two officials spoke about refugee returns and Croatia's
official announced a solution to the issue of tenancy rights
through state subvention. During the brief meeting there was also
talk concerning co-operation with the Hague-based UN war crimes
tribunal.
What is important to Croatia is the fact that The Netherlands
ratified the Stabilisation and Association Agreement however,
notification of this act still has not been sent.
Tomorrow, Croatian Minister is expected to attend a discussion of
Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) on democratic changes and
their impact on the stability in that region.
EAPC is a multilateral forum at which 19 NATO members and 27 partner
countries discuss political issues as well as those relating to
political security. Croatia accessed EAPC in May 2000 in Florence.
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