BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO. 3989 HINA ZAGREB, MAY 10

HR-BULLETIN-Politika BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO. 3989 HINA ZAGREB, MAY 10 CRO GOVT ACCEPTS TEXT OF STABILISATION AND ASSOCIATION AGREEMENTZAGREB, May 10 (Hina) - The Croatian government accepted the text of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union at a session on Thursday. The government also decided that Foreign Minister Tonino Picula, who is heading a state delegation for negotiations with the EU, would initial the SAA in Brussels on May 14. Along with the text of the SAA, the government adopted a statement regarding the preamble and Article 1 of the SAA which states that EU membership is Croatia's ultimate strategic goal and that Croatia holds the SAA a fundamental instrument in attaining that goal. Croatia's chief negotiator with the EU, Neven Mimica, said at the session that the EU did not accept Croatia's amendment to the SAA preamble which read that the SAA facilitated the accomplishment of Croatia's goal to become an EU member. Mimica there