ZAGREB, April 5 (Hina) - A Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between Croatia and the European Union will be initialled in early May, Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan and European Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Chris
Patten said in Zagreb on Thursday. "We assessed that the process of negations on the SAA was proceeding very well and successfully and we expect the negotiations to be concluded at the very beginning of May", Racan told a press conference held after a government session which was also attended by Patten.
ZAGREB, April 5 (Hina) - A Stabilisation and Association Agreement
(SAA) between Croatia and the European Union will be initialled in
early May, Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan and European
Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Chris Patten said in Zagreb on
Thursday.
"We assessed that the process of negations on the SAA was proceeding
very well and successfully and we expect the negotiations to be
concluded at the very beginning of May", Racan told a press
conference held after a government session which was also attended
by Patten.#L#
Patten said the SAA was almost completed, while several remaining
issues would be solved within several weeks. Should the SAA be late
several days, it will not be due to a political problem, but due to a
technical reason, Patten said.
Joining the EU does not bring into question the sovereignty of a
country, but you rather put yourself in the same position as us,
where there are no barriers for the freedom of movement of people,
goods, services and finances, which has made the EU more stable and
advanced, and we hope we will be able to share this stability and
prosperity with you in a decent democratic community of national
states, Patten said after the Croatian government session.
Stressing this was his first time attending a government session of
a non-EU member-county, Patten said this was a sign of an
extraordinary transformation in Croatia-EU relations, following a
democratic orientation Croatian citizens took 15 months ago.
Prime Minister Racan told reporters that with Patten's
participation in the government's session, Croatia and the EU
wanted to demonstrate the joint aspiration to strengthen
partnership relations between Zagreb and Brussels.
"We wish for Croatian citizens to live in an atmosphere of well-
being, therefore we are accelerating the path to Brussels, and at
the same time we want to convince and prove to the EU that it has and
will continue to have a good partner in Croatia and that this is not
only an empty word", the Croatian Prime Minister said.
Racan said the Croatian government session, attended by Patten, was
aimed at acquainting members of the government and the entire
Croatian public with the demanding tasks Croatia must do in the
process of approaching the EU.
"I believe the EU and its member-countries will recognise the
efforts this government is investing in reforms necessary to
approach the EU and the implementation of all parts of the SAA",
Racan said.
"By credibly implementating the future SAA, the government wants to
show that Croatia is a reliable partner and interlocutor to the EU
in this region", Racan said reiterating a set of conclusions the
government reached in February, defining its goal and obligation
as: "We want to be ready to join the EU by 2006."
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