ROME, Jan 31(Hina) - Italian media on Saturday carried the statement by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi following a quadrilateral meeting in the Slovene town of Brdo pri Kranju on Friday that Italy would be the most fervent supporter
of Croatia's admission into the European Union.
ROME, Jan 31(Hina) - Italian media on Saturday carried the statement by
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi following a quadrilateral meeting in
the Slovene town of Brdo pri Kranju on Friday that Italy would be the
most fervent supporter of Croatia's admission into the European
Union.#L#
Just as Italy supported the admission of Slovenia and Hungary, which
will become full members of the EU on May 1 this year, so it will
support Croatia's admission "possibly already in 2007 along with
Romania and Bulgaria," Berlusconi was quoted as telling reporters
after talks with Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader.
The Italian prime minister announced that ratification of the
Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the EU and Croatia
would very soon be put on the agenda of Italy's lower chamber of
parliament, adding that the agreement had already been given the green
light by the Senate.
Italian media also quoted Berlusconi as saying that he would talk to
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and that on Monday he would
call British Prime Minister Tony Blair by telephone regarding
ratification of the SAA with Croatia.
As for the declaration by Croatia of the ecological and fishing zone
in the Adriatic Sea, Berlusconi said that from the legal point of view
no procedural mistake had been made, but that "Italy wants the problem
created by Croatia's unilateral move to be discussed trilaterally."
(Hina) vm