ZAGREB, Feb 28 (Hina) - Next week Croatia expects a number of important visits by European Union and NATO officials in continuation of a process of the country's drawing closer to Euro-Atlantic integration, which started with a recent
visit to Brussels by Premier Ivica Racan, a Foreign Ministry spokesman told Hina on Monday. EU's High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security Javier Solana, European Commission foreign affairs representative Chris Patten, NATO Mission officials and an EC evaluation mission will visit Croatia next week. "This is the continuation of a dialogue which started with Premier Racan's visit to Brussels on Croatia's admission to NATO's Partnership for Peace programme and its drawing closer to the EU," spokesman Zeljko Trkanjec said. Trkanjec recalled that Racan's visit to Brussels on February 14 and 15 marked a turning point in the country's relations with the EU and NATO. Racan's EU
ZAGREB, Feb 28 (Hina) - Next week Croatia expects a number of
important visits by European Union and NATO officials in
continuation of a process of the country's drawing closer to Euro-
Atlantic integration, which started with a recent visit to Brussels
by Premier Ivica Racan, a Foreign Ministry spokesman told Hina on
Monday.
EU's High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security Javier
Solana, European Commission foreign affairs representative Chris
Patten, NATO Mission officials and an EC evaluation mission will
visit Croatia next week.
"This is the continuation of a dialogue which started with Premier
Racan's visit to Brussels on Croatia's admission to NATO's
Partnership for Peace programme and its drawing closer to the EU,"
spokesman Zeljko Trkanjec said.
Trkanjec recalled that Racan's visit to Brussels on February 14 and
15 marked a turning point in the country's relations with the EU and
NATO.
Racan's EU hosts said the EU would step up the procedure of Croatia-
EU rapprochement and Racan assessed that Croatia's admission to
NATO's Partnership for Peace is "close at hand."
The first sign of this radically new and positive attitude of the EU
toward Croatia will be the visit of EC foreign affairs commissioner
Chris Patten on March 10, during which the EC official will meet
Premier Racan and Foreign Minister Tonino Picula.
On that occasion, the current EC Office in Croatia will be
officially upgraded to the level of a permanent representation,
which will have the status of an embassy. The EC has this level of
relations with countries with which it has contractual relations.
It is expected that EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and
Security Javier Solana will attend the ceremony as well.
It is still not known who will be the EU Ambassador to Croatia.
A NATO mission will visit Zagreb next week as well. The mission will
negotiate Croatia's admission to the Partnership for Peace
programme at the Defence Ministry.
An EC evaluation mission, which is aimed at establishing needs and
priorities in EU's assistance to Croatia, will be visiting Zagreb
between 6 and 10 March.
"The Croatian government is fully determined to preserve the
current highly intensive dynamics of contacts with its partners on
the path toward Euro-Atlantic integration," Trkanjec said.
A Croatia-EU working group (task-force) in charge of preparing an
agreement on stabilisation and association held its first meeting
during Racan's visit to Brussels, and it should hold its next
meeting in mid-April in Zagreb.
After the evaluation mission and task force submit their reports, a
study on Croatia's ability to start negotiations on the
stabilisation and association agreement will be drawn up.
(hina) rml