PARIS, Oct 14 (Hina) - Cooperation with the Hague-based war crimes tribunal will be one of the main factors in the process of Croatia's drawing closer to the European Union, and Zagreb should therefore solve the "Bobetko case" by the
end of October, Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula said after talks with his French counterpart Dominique de Villepin in Paris on Monday.
PARIS, Oct 14 (Hina) - Cooperation with the Hague-based war crimes
tribunal will be one of the main factors in the process of Croatia's
drawing closer to the European Union, and Zagreb should therefore
solve the "Bobetko case" by the end of October, Croatian Foreign
Minister Tonino Picula said after talks with his French counterpart
Dominique de Villepin in Paris on Monday. #L#
Picula informed his host about Croatia's plans to submit an
application for full EU membership next year. He added though that
"Croatia is well aware that the success of the application will
depend on the country's overall political credibility, one of the
main indicators being its cooperation with the tribunal".
Picula also informed de Villepin about the efforts the government
was making in order to prevent the indictment against the former
Croatian Army Chief-of-Staff from being "not only a cause of a
possible dispute with the tribunal but also a cause of concern for
our European partners".
"In any case, we will respect the ruling of the tribunal's Appeals
Chamber once that ruling is forwarded to Zagreb," Picula said.
Speaking about concrete deadlines for the solution of the case,
Picula said the end of October was the final deadline.
He recalled that the EU Council of Ministers would convene in
Brussels in a week "after which another message on Zagreb's
cooperation with The Hague should be expected". At the same time,
the tribunal's chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte is expected in
Zagreb. By the end of October, Del Ponte should submit to the UN
Security Council a report on cooperation between former Yugoslav
countries and the tribunal.
The Council of Ministers had already warned Croatia to cooperate
with the tribunal at a session in late September, and the warning
was reiterated in an EU protest note that was handed to Prime
Minister Ivica Racan last Friday.
Bertrand Valero, a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, has
said that France expects Croatia to fully cooperate with the
tribunal and that it is one of the main conditions for Croatia's
rapprochement with the EU, which France fully supports.
France expects positive results to be achieved in that regard as
soon as possible, Valero said.
(hina) rml sb