ZAGREB, Oct 4 (Hina) - Croatia did not discontinue its cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and possible deterioration of relations with the European Union due to the assessment that
the cooperation is not sufficient would not mean that the implementation of reforms in the country would slow down, European Integration Minister Neven Mimica said Friday. Mimica said that the freezing of relations was "not realistic".
ZAGREB, Oct 4 (Hina) - Croatia did not discontinue its cooperation
with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) and possible deterioration of relations with the European
Union due to the assessment that the cooperation is not sufficient
would not mean that the implementation of reforms in the country
would slow down, European Integration Minister Neven Mimica said
Friday. Mimica said that the freezing of relations was "not
realistic". #L#
"Croatia cooperates and will continue to cooperate with the Hague-
based tribunal and exercising its rights to contest the tribunal
documents through legal proceedings cannot be interpreted as the
discontinuation of cooperation," Mimica said.
Croatia has already forwarded a request to the ICTY to approve
interlocutor appeals and later today it will most probably forward
an additional document to try to contest parts of the indictment
against the former Croatian Army Chief-of-Staff, retired General
Janko Bobetko, which refer to the Medak Pocket operation.
"Possible freezing of relations with the European Union, which in
my opinion is not realistic, would not mean that the reform process,
the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement
and Croatia's drawing closer to standards and criteria of the EU
would slow down," Mimica said and reiterated that in the 11 months
of the implementation of the SAA Croatia had fulfilled a half of its
obligations which needed to be implemented during a four-year
period. Mimica said Croatia would submit a request for full
membership in the EU early next year.
"Relations with the Hague-based tribunal could possibly have a
short-term effect on the formal course of process of Croatia's
joining (the EU), but they will not affect the pace and contents of
our own implementation of the SAA and the adoption of the legal
acquirements of the EU," Mimica said.
Mimica says that reactions from Brussels so far range between even-
tempered invitations of the Council of Ministers to cooperate with
the tribunal and hasty demands of some countries or EU officials,
which represent the transfer of the problem from a legal to a
political plan.
Mimica said that conclusions of the European Council, which should
decide which countries would be invited to join the EU, would set
the fate of other countries that see themselves inside of the EU.
The European Council should meet in Copenhagen in December.
"The meeting should clearly determine that "the expansion will take
place after the expansion", he said and expressed hope that Croatia
would be a candidate for membership in 2004.
Zagreb wants to achieve readiness for membership by the end of 2006
and membership itself will depend on the EU, Mimica said.
(hina)it