This matter is regulated by the regulation No. 2371/2002 adopted by the Council of the European Union.
It is a general regulation defining the EU's Common Fisheries Policy and is applied by all EU member states, which means that upon its entry into the European bloc, Crotia will also apply it.
The regulation stipulates that member-states enjoy the sovereign right to restrict the access of others to its coastal waters up to 12 nautical miles.
The EU fisheries policy is reviewed every ten years, and the existing regulation is in place until 31 December 2012. The previous ten-year regulation regulated the access to coastal waters in the same way as the current one and it is obvious that when changing framework legislation EU members have not changed the regime of access to coastal waters, the Croatian ministry and the office of the chief negotiator said.
Also consultations on the future fisheries regulation also show that member states and the European Parliament have expressed support to the maintenance of the current regime in the next ten-year period.
Last Tuesday, Croatia's chief negotiator, Vladimir Dobnjak, warned about misinformation in connection with the EU and in this context dismissed some media reports that Croatia's territorial waters would be open for fishermen from other EU members after Zagreb joined the European bloc.
"This is not true, our coastal waters will be exclusively in our jurisdiction after admission to the EU," Drobnjak said, adding that one should insist on correct information.