SOFIA SOFIA, June 25 (Hina) - Croatia will complete reforms required for EU membership by 2007, while admission to the European Union will then depend more on the EU enlargement policy than on Croatia, Foreign Minister Tonino Picula
said in Sofia on Wednesday after talks with his Bulgarian counterpart Solomon Passy.
SOFIA, June 25 (Hina) - Croatia will complete reforms required for
EU membership by 2007, while admission to the European Union will
then depend more on the EU enlargement policy than on Croatia,
Foreign Minister Tonino Picula said in Sofia on Wednesday after
talks with his Bulgarian counterpart Solomon Passy. #L#
"We have decided to finish with reforms required for membership in
the EU by 2007," Picula said in response to Bulgarian reporters'
questions on whether Croatia would join the Union in the second
enlargement wave, together with Bulgaria and Romania.
"After that, everything will be much more dependent on the EU
enlargement policy," said Picula.
Speaking about Croatia's cooperation with the Hague war crimes
tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, he said it was presently not a
hurdle to faster integration into the EU. "On the contrary, the
successful cooperation we have right now can only boost Croatia's
success on that road."
Stressing the need of cooperating on the road to Brussels, Picula
and Passy announced the signing of a cooperation agreement as part
of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.
"The agreement will define many cooperation areas, so that we can
achieve European standards together and separately," said Picula,
stressing that Croatia, like Bulgaria, advocated an individual
approach to the EU, as confirmed at a recent Thessaloniki summit.
Speaking about economic cooperation, the two ministers agreed
there was a lot of room to improve it, with agriculture, the metal-
working industry, and tourism offering major potential.
Croatia-Bulgaria trade last year totalled US$27 million, of which
Croatian exports accounted for a little under $12 million. In this
year's first two months, Croatia realised its first surplus in
trade with Bulgaria -- $1.4 million.
Bulgaria is interested in using the free customs zones in Rijeka and
Osijek and in renovating the harbour in Vukovar.
The two countries' inter-governmental committee on economic
cooperation should meet soon to define priorities. A social
insurance agreement is likely to be signed next month, while
Bulgaria will be the partner country at the Zagreb Fair this
autumn.
(hina) ha sb