The Ivo Sanader cabinet made the decision on signing the agreement during a closed-door session which it held in the city of Bjelovar, 60 kilometres east of Zagreb.
Government spokesman Ratko Macek told reporters that there were no changes in the text of the agreement which Zagreb and Sarajevo formulated in 2002. Consequently, all Croats in Bosnia Herzegovina who have dual citizenship will be able to retain this status.
A spokeswoman for the Croatian Interior Ministry, Emina Lisic, has explained that the agreement does not stipulate conditions which applicants will be asked to meet in order to qualify for Bosnian and Croatian citizenship in the future. The text contains provisions which make it possible for persons who already hold both citizenships to retain them in line with the 1995 Dayton peace accords, she added.
Croatian Parliament Speaker Vladimir Seks on Tuesday mentioned this matter when he said that nobody would lose their dual citizenship but that in the future citizenship would be granted on the basis of an applicant's permanent residence.