ZAGREB, Oct 4 (Hina) - Jozo Rados, leader of the Libra party, has said that the unauthorised opening of the issue of an economic zone in the Adriatic by the Foreign Ministry, some senior officials of the ruling coalition and the
President of the Republic "is actually an attempt to score cheap political points" ahead of parliamentary elections.
ZAGREB, Oct 4 (Hina) - Jozo Rados, leader of the Libra party, has
said that the unauthorised opening of the issue of an economic zone
in the Adriatic by the Foreign Ministry, some senior officials of
the ruling coalition and the President of the Republic "is actually
an attempt to score cheap political points" ahead of parliamentary
elections. #L#
"At a time when Prime Minister (Ivica) Racan is travelling to
Brussels to submit Croatia's answers to the EU, he also has to carry
this burden which we could have done without," Rados said at the
first session of a senior party body on Saturday.
Rados said his party believed that the government's decision to
declare a fishing and ecological zone in the Adriatic was the
optimal position, intended to protect the country's economic and
environmental interests without threatening its admission to the
EU.
Rados criticised the opposition for accusing the ruling coalition
of opportunism and loss of national identity instead of trying to
appreciate the government's intention.
Nonetheless, Rados believes that Croatia can remove all obstacles
on its way to the EU. He said that Croatia had proven capable of
preparing answers to the EU questionnaire in less than three months
as well as abandoning its defensive position in the relationship
with the Hague war crimes tribunal.
Deputy Prime Minister Goran Granic, one of the party's leaders,
voiced optimism ahead of Racan's meeting with the chief prosecutor
of the UN tribunal, stating that Croatia had met all obligations
towards the tribunal in a responsible manner. He added that there
was no obligation within Croatia's possibilities at this moment
that it had not fulfilled.
(hina) rml sb