ZAGREB, Dec 21 (Hina) - Premier Ivica Racan believes that the decision of the Dutch government to discontinue the completion of the entire procedure of the ratification of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Croatia and
the EU, was a short-term move with no great effect on Croatia's bids to join the European Union.
ZAGREB, Dec 21 (Hina) - Premier Ivica Racan believes that the
decision of the Dutch government to discontinue the completion of
the entire procedure of the ratification of a Stabilisation and
Association Agreement between Croatia and the EU, was a short-term
move with no great effect on Croatia's bids to join the European
Union. #L#
Asked by reporters to comment on the decision which the Dutch
government made citing the case of General Janko Bobetko as the
reason for its move, PM Racan, who was taking part in a local
humanitarian action in Zagreb on Saturday, said that "this is one
case of misunderstanding which we have with some European
countries."
The Croatian premier said he was intending to visit several
European capitals in January and February and "if necessary he will
take into consideration the Netherlands."
The agency AFP on Friday reported from The Hague that the Dutch
government had decided not to ratify the SAA which Croatia signed
with the Union until Bobetko was handed over.
Dutch Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer informed the lower
house of the Dutch parliament of the decision in writing, the AFP
reported, reminding that the British government had suspended the
ratification of the SAA for the same reason in October.
An unnamed diplomat explained to the Croatian news agency (HINA)
that what the Netherlands had actually done was "freezing the
notification procedure". The Netherlands ratified the SAA in
September, and was to report to the European Commission i.e. the
European Parliament within sixty days that the agreement had been
ratified.
On Saturday, another Croatian senior official, Vice Premier Goran
Granic, said he was expecting of the Dutch authorities to give "more
convincing reasons for their refusal to ratify the SAA".
During a break of the session of the leadership of his party
(Libra), Goran Granic said "the Dutch government should have known
that the Croatian government has not been competent for the problem
about the Bobetko indictment for more than one month, as after the
ruling of the Constitutional Court, the (relevant) court is in
charge of the issue."
"The government can do nothing regarding the indictment, and so it
cannot hand over it to Gen. Bobetko," said Granic, who is the head of
the government's council for cooperation with the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
(hina) ms