GRANIC: TRIBUNAL'S REPORT IMPORTANT FOR CROATIA'S EU MEMBERSHIP BID

ZAGREB, Sept 24 (Hina) - Deputy Prime Minister Goran Granic has said he expects Britain and the Netherlands will stop blocking the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Croatia and the EU if the chief prosecutor of the Hague-based UN war crimes tribunal favourably assesses Croatia's cooperation with the tribunal. #L# "Yes, that's what they have clearly said," Granic told the Nova TV network in an interview on Tuesday when asked if there was any chance of Britain and the Netherlands changing their positions. Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte is expected to submit a report to the UN Security Council on cooperation of Croatia and other countries with the tribunal. "The talks I have had with British diplomats show that they are waiting for that report, on the basis of which they will define their further policy towards Croatia. That's why it is very important to us that the report should be positive and that it should reflect the cooperation and efforts of the Croatian government to meet its international commitments towards the International Criminal Tribunal," said Granic, who is scheduled to meet Del Ponte in The Hague on Thursday. The prosecutor's main complaints refer to the case of General Ante Gotovina, who has been on the run for two years. "According to the information available to us, General Gotovina is not under Croatian jurisdiction, so we cannot carry out the tribunal's order," Granic said, adding that he would discuss this with Del Ponte. Granic said his meeting with Del Ponte should "remove any dilemmas or misinterpretations" regarding Croatia's cooperation with the tribunal. Britain's Minister for Europe, Denis MacShane, said during a meeting with his Croatian counterpart, Neven Mimica, in London on Tuesday that the British parliament would ratify the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Croatia and the EU after the arrest of the fugitive general or his voluntary surrender to the Hague tribunal. (hina) vm