ZAGREB, July 19 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic and Croatian Minister for European Integration Ljerka Mintas-Hodak will visit Brussels on Tuesday to participate in "the informal political dialogue" along with
representatives of European Union. Granic and Mintas-Hodak will hold talks with representative of the European Union Guenther Burghart, Finnish Foreign Minister, and the Foreign Minister of Portugal. The two Croatian officials will be informed of necessary steps Croatia must take to transfer from the informal political dialogue in the formal, which is an important step towards the strategic goal of the Croatian foreign policy, namely joining the European Union. After the Croatian Government adopted a plan on joining the European integration, Granic said that the PHARE programme, which was frozen during the Croatian military operation of Strom in August 1995 that freed Croatian territory of Se
ZAGREB, July 19 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic and
Croatian Minister for European Integration Ljerka Mintas-Hodak
will visit Brussels on Tuesday to participate in "the informal
political dialogue" along with representatives of European Union.
Granic and Mintas-Hodak will hold talks with representative of the
European Union Guenther Burghart, Finnish Foreign Minister, and
the Foreign Minister of Portugal.
The two Croatian officials will be informed of necessary steps
Croatia must take to transfer from the informal political dialogue
in the formal, which is an important step towards the strategic goal
of the Croatian foreign policy, namely joining the European Union.
After the Croatian Government adopted a plan on joining the
European integration, Granic said that the PHARE programme, which
was frozen during the Croatian military operation of Strom in
August 1995 that freed Croatian territory of Serb occupation, could
be unfrozen in the next fall.
The visit of the two Croatian ministers to Brussels is of "technical
nature", diplomatic sources reported.
This visit is a step forward in relations between Croatia and the
European Union, the same sources reported, but stressed, however,
that the visit would not be able to initiate official negotiations
unless Croatia fulfilled conditions; passing an electoral law by a
consensus, the undisturbed flow of the return process, and the
democratisation of media, particularly television.
If Croatia fulfils the conditions, the Office of the European
Union's Commission in Zagreb will prepare a report on the
development of the situation in Croatia in October. The report will
most probably include a recommendation that Croatia be included in
the formal political dialogue. This means that the official
negotiations between Croatia and the European Union will not be
able to start before early next year.
In the meantime, the European Union is ready to continue the
informal dialogue with Croatia. Another meeting of similar nature
could be held in early fall at which Croatia will be granted another
opportunity to express readiness and ability to take an individual
approach to European integration.
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