ZAGREB, May 17 (Hina) - Early in 2003 Croatia intends to submit a request for full membership to the European Union and it could become a candidate for accession to the Union towards the end of next year or early 2004, European
Integration Minister Neven Mimica stated on Friday.
ZAGREB, May 17 (Hina) - Early in 2003 Croatia intends to submit a
request for full membership to the European Union and it could
become a candidate for accession to the Union towards the end of
next year or early 2004, European Integration Minister Neven Mimica
stated on Friday. #L#
Mimica made this statement at the first meeting of the Europa Club
Zagreb. The club was founded several years ago by Bank Austria AG
from Vienna, the central office of the Croatian HVB Bank Croatia.
The club is already active in Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest,
Ljubljana and Vienna.
In order for Croatia's application to be objective, Croatia must
fulfil this year's obligations noted in the Stabilisation and
Association Agreement (SAA) signed in October 2001, Mimica said.
Conceding that there was some delay in implementing certain reforms
that are required in the SAA, Mimica said these could be stepped up
before the year's end, as could the removal of faults noted in this
year's European Commission report on Croatia. These relate to
protection of minority rights, refugee returns, the situation in
the judiciary, and the strengthening of regional co-operation.
"Croatia will be ready for membership to the EU by the end of 2006,
when it will not only fulfil its obligations for associate
membership, but the conditions for full membership as well, i.e. to
attain the Copenhagen criteria in the political, democratic, legal
and economic sense", he said.
(hina) sp sb