ZAGREB, Feb 5 (Hina) - The full support to Croatia's bids to enter the European Union as soon as possible, spelled out in a joint declaration at the Budapest meeting of the European Parliament President with the heads of other
European countries' parliaments, is a significant step forward and additional positive point which will substantially impact the process of obtaining a positive opinion from the European Commission on Croatia's (EU membreship) application, said Croatian Parliament President Vladimir Seks on Thursday after he returned from Budapest where he attended yesterday's meeting.
ZAGREB, Feb 5 (Hina) - The full support to Croatia's bids to enter the
European Union as soon as possible, spelled out in a joint declaration
at the Budapest meeting of the European Parliament President with the
heads of other European countries' parliaments, is a significant step
forward and additional positive point which will substantially impact
the process of obtaining a positive opinion from the European
Commission on Croatia's (EU membreship) application, said Croatian
Parliament President Vladimir Seks on Thursday after he returned from
Budapest where he attended yesterday's meeting.#L#
The Hungarian capital hosted the 16th meeting of the European
Parliament (EP) President with the presidents of the parliaments of 10
countries that will enter the Union this May, three candidate
countries as well as heads of parliament of five south-eastern
European countries covered by the SAP (Stabilisation and Association
process), who attended this meeting for the first time.
At a news conference at Zagreb's Pleso airport, Seks voiced
satisfaction with the fact that Croatia had its representatives at
this event, and pointed out the speech of Doris Pack, the head of the
EP delegation for relations with south-eastern Europe, who had
stressed that each country should be evaluated according to its own
merits and results in the process of meeting conditions for the
admission to the Union.
Asked whether a possibility of the British and Dutch refusal to ratify
the Croatia-EU Stabilisation and Association Agreement was discussed
at the Budapest meeting, Seks answered that no mention of this had
been made yesterday.
"At the discussions nobody spoke of exerting influence on the policy
of Britain and the Netherlands regarding the ratification, as this is
settled on other levels the Sabor's head said.
However, it is indicative that the EP President Pat Cox several times
supported Croatia's request for the EU membership, and at a separate
meeting I notified him of moves which the government is taking to
strengthen cooperation with the Hague-based tribunal," Seks.
"But what will be most important is a report of the tribunal's Chief
Prosecutor (Carla del Ponte) which, without false optimism, is most
likely to be positive. Consequently, this will impact the position of
the two countries regarding the ratification of the SAA, and this
should bring an end to the political connection between the issuance
of a positive opinion of the European Commission and the ratification
of the SAA," Seks said.
As regards Italy, (the third country which has not yet ratified the
SAA), Seks recalled that last Friday Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi
gave assurances at the Quadrilateral Group's meeting in Slovenia that
the Italian parliament would soon confirm the said agreement.
Seks told the news conference that in Budapset he had held bilateral
meetings with heads of the parliaments of Serbia-Montenegro,
Macedonia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Estonia.
(Hina) ms