ZAGREB, May 15 (Hina) - Croatia and the Netherlands signed in Zagreb on Wednesday a memorandum on cooperation envisaging assistance for Croatia's efforts to draw closer to the European Union.
ZAGREB, May 15 (Hina) - Croatia and the Netherlands signed in Zagreb
on Wednesday a memorandum on cooperation envisaging assistance for
Croatia's efforts to draw closer to the European Union. #L#
This is the first programme of the Dutch government for a country
which is not an official EU candidate.
The assistance programme usually includes candidate-countries,
and this act of support to Croatia is an expression of the
Netherlands's belief that Croatia is ready to continue drawing
closer to the EU and eventually meet membership criteria, said a
deputy to the Dutch ambassador to Zagreb, Hans van den Dool.
The memorandum was signed by Deputy European Integration Minister
Mirjana Mladineo and the manager of the Dutch programme for
cooperation programmes management, John Heck. The purpose of the
programme is to help Croatia's institutional and administrative
adjustment to EU standards, through visits by former Dutch state
employees to Croatian ministries, who would provide consulting
services in the adjustment of domestic legislation to EU's
standards.
The programme is implemented in 12 countries. Around 200 former
state employees are willing to participate in the programme, which
covers different areas, such as transport, agriculture, food, job
safety, economy etc., Heck said.
"This is the first pre-admission agreement on technical assistance
signed with an EU member. Since such agreements are usually signed
only with candidate-countries, this means that Croatia is
perceived as a country which has been drawing closer to the EU at a
faster pace. We expect similar agreements to be signed with other EU
members as well," Mladineo said.
The Netherlands is one of the leading EU donors in Croatia. Last
year alone, the Netherlands donated 9.2 million euros to Croatia.
(hina) rml