SEGEDIN, June 24 (Hina) - Croatia has accepted the Stability Pact from the start, but for it to be successfully implemented, promises must be fulfilled because the Croatian public wants to know how it benefits from the Stability Pact,
Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula told a summit of the Central European Initiative (CEI), held at the ministerial level in Segedin, Hungary, on Saturday.
SEGEDIN, June 24 (Hina) - Croatia has accepted the Stability Pact
from the start, but for it to be successfully implemented, promises
must be fulfilled because the Croatian public wants to know how it
benefits from the Stability Pact, Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino
Picula told a summit of the Central European Initiative (CEI), held
at the ministerial level in Segedin, Hungary, on Saturday. #L#
Welcoming the approach within the Pact, which is project-oriented,
and the results of a regional funding conference held in Brussels in
March, Picula said he wanted to pose some challenging questions the
answers to which would be of crucial importance for the successful
completion of the Stability Pact process.
The first and foremost, what has been promised must be fulfilled,
Picula said, expressing hope that reports from the field
demonstrated how serious Croatia was in fulfilling its obligations
and conducting reforms.
However, the Croatian public is wondering about the real benefit
from the Stability Pact for ordinary Croatian citizens, Picula
continued.
Therefore, encouraged by the conclusions of the Salonika regional
table, Croatia believes the implementation of a package of 'quick-
start' projects is an important precondition for the continuation
of full and genuine support for the Stability Pact by Croatian
citizens, he said.
Picula also spoke about developments in the process of Croatia's
drawing closer to the European Union, which resulted in the
adoption of a feasibility study on June 14 in Luxembourg, after
which Croatia was given the opportunity to start negotiations on a
stabilisation and association agreement with the EU.
The Croatian Government wants those negotiations to start and be
completed as soon as possible so that it could follow the positive
examples of some CEI member-countries which are candidates for EU
membership, Picula said.
The agreement on stabilisation and association secures various
forms of assistance and simultaneously takes care of the situation
and special needs of every country.
Croatia has great expectations toward the EU as regards financial
and technical aid, because it believes that increased financial aid
would considerably accelerate its drawing closer to the Union and
its standards, Picula said.
Admission to Partnership for Peace is for Croatia an important step
toward its main goal - its full membership in NATO, Picula said.
Commenting on neighbouring countries, Picula said the Croatian
government was carefully following the situation and had accepted
its share of responsibility for stability in the region.
The latest developments confirm Croatia's strong support for an
independent Bosnia-Herzegovina, Picula said, adding Croatia was
continuing open and constructive talks with Montenegro.
Croatia believes that the CEI understands the importance of active
support for Montenegro, which is aimed at preventing another
conflict in the region.
The democratisation of Yugoslavia is of utmost importance for the
overall stability in south-east Europe, the Foreign Minister said,
adding Croatia shared the policy of the international community
regarding Milosevic's regime.
As long as Milosevic is in power, a lasting peace solution for this
region will be impossible to reach, Picula said.
Speaking about Kosovo, Picula said the stabilisation of that area
depended on a complete and consistent implementation of Resolution
1244 of the U.N. Security Council. Participation in humanitarian
assistance to and the reconstruction of Yugoslavia must be made
conditional on the replacement of Milosevic's regime to the benefit
of democratic forces, he said.
(hina) rml