Prime Minister Sanader supports the Delegation's work and we will continue working with the Croatian government and Parliament on what we are here for, and that is to bring Croatia into the European Union, Degert told reporters after the presentation of Transparency International's Corruption Barometer for 2006 at Zagreb's Westin hotel.
We're cooperating very well and we'll continue doing so, but that doesn't mean that we don't have to draw each other's attention to omissions, Sanader said.
The dispute between Sanader and Degert arose on Tuesday after the European Commission Delegation issued a statement saying that by unilaterally activating the EFPZ Croatia would harm its own credibility as a reliable partner in the region.
This prompted Sanader to announce in Dubrovnik on Wednesday that he intended to send a note of protest to the European Commission over Degert's behaviour, asserting that by misinforming Brussels of Croatia's intentions about the EFPZ, the head of the EC Delegation had confused the Croatian public and the EC.
The Croatian prime minister also questioned the letter Degert had forwarded to the Zagreb County Court in connection with a war crimes investigation against member of the Croatian Parliament Branimir Glavas, insisting that Degert had no right to communicate with the court directly and that by doing so he had overstepped his authority.
Our relations are good. I don't expect apologies, we're back to business as usual, Degert said.
Degert and Sanader briefly met privately after the conference. Degert later said Sanader had not offered him an apology.
Admitting that his statement was not usual in diplomatic relations, Sanader said that his statement was appropriate.
I'm not taking back those words. My statement was not usual, just as the fact that Degert directly contacted the County Court was not usual, the prime minister said.
Sanader pointed out that Croatia is a sovereign state and that the Vienna Convention clearly provides that representatives of international institutions may not directly approach a national court, but should do so through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Justice.
He reiterated that Croatia had the right to autonomously declare the EFPZ and that there was no trilateral agreement about it with Italy and Slovenia.