ZAGREB/ROME, Oct 10 (Hina) - Croatia's Ambassador to Italy, Drago Kraljevic, and an under-secretary at the Italian Agriculture and Forestry Ministry, Paolo Scarpa, agreed in Rome on Thursday that the Italian ministry should shelve the
so-called Adriatic case, caused by Croatia's decision to proclaim a fishing and ecological zone in the Adriatic, the Croatian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
ZAGREB/ROME, Oct 10 (Hina) - Croatia's Ambassador to Italy, Drago
Kraljevic, and an under-secretary at the Italian Agriculture and
Forestry Ministry, Paolo Scarpa, agreed in Rome on Thursday that
the Italian ministry should shelve the so-called Adriatic case,
caused by Croatia's decision to proclaim a fishing and ecological
zone in the Adriatic, the Croatian Foreign Ministry said in a
statement. #L#
Ambassador Kraljevic said on Friday that "today Italy has shelved
the 'Adriatic case'," caused by the declaration of the protected
fishing and ecological zone in the Adriatic.
"Last night I talked to the under-secretary of the Italian
Agriculture Ministry in charge of fisheries, Paolo Scarpa, who told
me that the matter would be shelved today," Kraljevic said.
The two officials exchanged views and information on the Croatian
parliament's decision to expand jurisdiction in the Adriatic at the
meeting which was part of preparations for the ministerial
conference on sustainable fisheries in the Mediterranean,
scheduled to take place in Venice on 25 and 26 November.
They agreed to continue talks which were started in Zagreb by a
joint task force for fisheries with the aim of strengthening
bilateral cooperation in the fisheries, the Croatian ministry
said.
"We have reached agreement about the need to create better
conditions for fishing in the Adriatic, and the Venice meeting will
be critical in that regard," said Kraljevic.
Only when they assume full responsibility for the protection of
resources in the Adriatic, both on bilateral as well as on
multilateral level, Croatia and Italy will be able to offer
prospects to their fishermen, the ministry statement said.
With the latest decision "Italy has once again offered not only its
strong support to Croatia on its path to Euro-Atlantic
associations, but also understanding with regard to the
realisation of our national interests, which are not directed
against our neighbours, nor are they in conflict with the interests
of the European Union, which wants to ensure ecological protection
of the Mediterranean", reads the statement.
Responding to statements that Croatia could declare an exclusive
economic zone in the Adriatic, Paolo Scarpa on October 1 forwarded a
letter to European Commission officials urging a diplomatic
intervention by the EU against the decision. He said that by
declaring an exclusive economic zone Croatia would acquire 3/5 of
the Adriatic with exclusive fishing rights, which he said would
threaten Italian fishermen.
Scarpa had previously opposed the economic zone due to its adverse
effects on Italian fisheries, however, at the same time he stated
that Italy and Croatia were in agreement about the need to protect
the Adriatic by establishing fishing zones in line with the EC
proposal.
Based on the solutions which it has been successfully implementing
in the North Sea and the Baltic, the European Commission has
proposed in its action plan for the Mediterranean the introduction
of protected fishing zones as the most efficient measure in
controlling fishing and protection of endangered fish stocks,
which will be the central topic of the Venice conference.
The EC yesterday also proposed a set of measures for the protection
of fisheries in the Mediterranean, intended for its current and
future members from the Mediterranean basin.
(hina) rml