ZAGREB, Sept 22 (Hina) - The European Union wants to commence negotiations with Croatia on an agreement on stabilisation and association as soon as possible, definitely this autumn, to upgrade its political, economic, and trade
relations with Croatia to a contractual level, an EU official said in Zagreb on Friday.
ZAGREB, Sept 22 (Hina) - The European Union wants to commence
negotiations with Croatia on an agreement on stabilisation and
association as soon as possible, definitely this autumn, to upgrade
its political, economic, and trade relations with Croatia to a
contractual level, an EU official said in Zagreb on Friday.#L#
The European Commission's commissioner for foreign affairs Chris
Patten today held talks with Croatia's President Stipe Mesic,
Foreign Minister Tonino Picula, and European Integration Minister
Ivan Jakovcic.
Patten was unable to tell the press when exactly negotiations on the
agreement would begin.
He said details of the negotiating mandate were being fine-tuned,
and that there were no technical or political issues. He expected
good news before a November 24 Zagreb summit of EU and Southeast
European officials.
Commenting on this week's decision by the EU to revoke tariffs for
most Croatian products accessing the EU market, Patten said this
initiative reflected the Union's feeling that Croatia's government
and people shared the same values with Europe, the same views on how
a pluralistic, open, and modern democracy with a free market and the
rule of law should function.
He added the decision, among else, had been motivated by the new
Croatian government's arguments which accentuated the outstanding
importance of broadening the access of Croatian products to the EU
market.
Patten's talks with Mesic, Picula, and Jakovcic also tackled the
Zagreb summit. He said that France, as EU's presiding country,
ascribed great significance to the summit's success, an opinion he
added the European Commission shared fully.
Commenting on this weekend's elections in neighbouring Yugoslavia,
EC's commissioner for foreign affairs said he was certain the
majority of the people in Serbia wanted a change in the regime, but
that he feared Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic would
disagree.
Patten said EU's position concerning the Yugoslav elections was
clear. Democratic changes in Serbia will advance economic and
political cooperation with Europe, and if Serbs vote for Europe,
Europe has to and will respond to this vote, he asserted.
Speaking of presidential candidate Vojislav Kostunica's possible
attendance of the Zagreb summit if he were to win, Patten said it was
to be decided by Croatia as the summit's host and France in
agreement with other EU members.
(hina) ha