EU SPEAKS ON BEHALF OF CROATIA FOR THE FIRST TIME

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Hina) - The European Union for the first time spoke on behalf of Croatia regarding one political issues in the United Nations on Monday, thus institutionalising cooperation in the foreign and security policies. #L# The UN General Assembly on Monday requested of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to voice its opinion about legal consequences of Israel's decision to set up a wall on the West Coast. A total of 90 countries are for and eight are against the UN General Assembly Resolution which demands of the ICJ to voice its opinion, while 74 countries abstained from voting. The European Union also abstained saying that forwarding the issue to the ICJ was legally questionable and that it could cause damage to the peace process and political dialogue in the Near East. Croatia also abstained from voting, thus siding with the EU. This is the first time that it was mentioned that one of the five countries from the Stabilisation and Association process has sided with the EU. "For the first time we have institutionalised cooperation between Croatia and the EU in the foreign and security policies," a diplomatic source, who wished to stay anonymous, told Hina. "For the first time, the European Union spoke on behalf of Croatia," the same source said. (hina) it sb