BRUSSELS, Sept 23 (Hina) - Croatian Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Simonovic and the European Commission's director general for external relations, Eneko Landaburu, discussed in Brussels on Tuesday the drafting of an EC opinion of
Croatia's application for European Union membership.
BRUSSELS, Sept 23 (Hina) - Croatian Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan
Simonovic and the European Commission's director general for
external relations, Eneko Landaburu, discussed in Brussels on
Tuesday the drafting of an EC opinion of Croatia's application for
European Union membership. #L#
Also discussed were political dialogue and the elimination of
problems which might surface about the application, Simonovic said
after the talks.
Landaburu "will have a strong influence on the definition of the
opinion of Croatia's application", he added.
The EC has announced the opinion, aka the avis, will be finalised in
March 2004.
If Croatia's Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with
the EU is not ratified by all Union nations by then, the EC's
position will be made "quite difficult" even though formally the
Commission is independent and gives its opinion even to members
which have not ratified the SAA, Simonovic said, adding that
Croatia had to continue making efforts so that the SAA was approved
on time.
Completion of ratification is being halted by the UK and the
Netherlands with the explanation that Croatia is not cooperating
with the Hague war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the
case of fugitive general Ante Gotovina.
Simonovic is in Brussels at the helm of a Croatian delegation
participating in a preparatory meeting to a ministerial conference
on fishing in the Mediterranean.
(hina) ha