AUSTRIA RATIFIES SAA BETWEEN CROATIA AND EUROPEAN UNION

VIENNA, Feb 21 (Hina) - The Austrian Parliament's Federal Council on Thursday ended the ratification of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between Croatia and the European Union by unanimously adopting the document. In less than four months of the signing of the SAA, and only two months after its ratification in the Croatian parliament, all four Austrian parliamentary parties (the National Party, the Party for Freedom, the Social Democratic Party and the Green Party) in both parliamentary houses (the National Council on January 31 and the Federal Council on February 21) unanimously adopted the SAA and supported Croatia on its path towards the EU. Croatia is a part of Europe, Croatia has to join EU as soon as possible, said the parties' representatives. A deputy parliament speaker, Zlatko Tomac, and Croatian Ambassador to Austria Drazen Vukov Colic were welcomed at the Federal Council's session with a big applause. Tomac assessed the ratification of the Agreement in the Austrian parliament, the first of EU countries to do so, was a big and important event which started a process which should rapidly lead Croatia to join the EU. "Today, Austria was again the first one to give a clear sign to other EU countries that one should fight for Croatia's second recognition, that is, its becoming a full member of the European family of states as soon as possible" Tomac said in Vienna. (hina) np sb