REACTIONS TO CROATIA-EU STABILISATION, ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT-PART 2

ZAGREB, Oct 29 (Hina) - The president of the Opposition's Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Ivo Sanader, on Monday said a Stabilisation and Association Agreement was a very poor document which lacked information on how Croatia would join the European Union. Instead, it frequently mentions the stabilisation of the so-called western Balkans, into which Croatia has been "pushed" along with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Albania, Sanader said. In a Croatian parliamentary discussion on the SAA, the HDZ clearly stated that it absolutely supported Croatia's joining the EU, however, on an individual basis, and not through the regional approach of the so-called western Balkans, Sanader told a news conference Monday. Under the agreement, Croatia must sign a series of bilateral agreements with the countries of the western Balkans within two years from the ratification of the agreement, Sanader said. He added that nobody guaranteed Croatia that at some point it would not be pressured into transforming this bilateral network into a multilateral one, which would practically confirm the western Balkans union. Nobody in Croatia can nor is allowed to impose on Croatia a western Balkans framework, Sanader said. The HDZ is interested in the political stabilisation of the region, however, Croatia must not be a hostage to the region, Sanader said. This is an important difference between us and the ruling coalition, which has unfortunately made the deal on the SAA far from the public eye, Sanader said. The Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HKDU) said the signing of the SAA had made Croatia's international position more difficult, adding "Croatia has become a blind yes-man of the international community." (hina) it sb