Stressing that there was no place more attractive than Dubrovnik to discuss the EU, the Bundestag president said that when six western European countries signed the Treaty of Rome in the 1950s they did not think that the community would live long enough to see its 50th birthday and number 27 members.
We want an efficient European political union because Europe today can play a significant role in the world only if it is united, Lammert said.
The implementation of reforms is as important as the acceptance of the bloc and its citizens and the attitude of the Croatian citizens towards the EU is similar to that of citizens of EU member states.
Speaking about Croatia and the future of the EU, the German official said that there was a circle of potential EU members such as Ukraine, Belarus, former Yugoslav republics, Turkey, Georgia, Moldova and Morocco.
One of the most important tasks will be for Europe to deal with the issue of borders, because it is not absolutely clear where these borders are going through, Lammert said, adding that Croatia most definitely was part of Europe.
Europe must undergo a reform process, as Croatia must implement reforms so as to join the EU, the Bundestag president said.