ZAGREB, Nov 5 (Hina) - After the first wave of its enlargement, the European Union will not immediately be ready for the second round of its expansion, and this is not the ideal time for Croatia to supply its candidacy for full EU
membership, the European Commission Ambassador to Zagreb, Jacques Wunnenburger, said on Tuesday.
ZAGREB, Nov 5 (Hina) - After the first wave of its enlargement, the
European Union will not immediately be ready for the second round of
its expansion, and this is not the ideal time for Croatia to supply
its candidacy for full EU membership, the European Commission
Ambassador to Zagreb, Jacques Wunnenburger, said on Tuesday. #L#
At a presentation of results of a survey conducted by Eurbarometar,
which this agency carries out twice a year in EU members and
aspirants for membership, Wunnenburger said that although Zagreb
planned to submit the application next spring, Brussels would
advise it to be cautious given that the EU was not ready for new
rounds of enlargement.
He added that Croatia, which has announced several times to date
that it is going to apply for full EU membership in spring 2003,
should freeze its candidacy for some time.
The case referring to an ICTY indictment against retired General
Janko Bobetko will play a great role in Croatia's bids to draw
closer to the EU, the diplomat said.
"We are waiting for a ruling of the Appeals Chamber," he said,
adding that some countries had nevertheless decided to postpone the
ratification of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA)
which Croatia signed with the EU. They concluded that Zagreb,
although it said it would respect the Appeals Chamber's ruling,
acted in line with requests only when it was exposed to pressure.
The Croatian Government is in principle for cooperation, but the
impression remains that it is doing so only because of
international pressure, Wunnenburger said, adding that this would
imply that Croatia had not yet adopted European standards.
Wunnenburger does not expect any positive statements about
Croatia's application for the full EU membership before the
resolution of the Bobetko case.
The Eurobarometar survey shows that the percentage of those who are
in favour of EU enlargement is the highest in Denmark, Greece and
Spain, while the French appear the largest opponents.
Croatia's admission to the EU is supported by 32 percent of
respondents in the EU, while 45 percent of EU citizens are against
it.
(hina) ms sb