ZAGREB, Feb 24 (Hina) - Croatia is taking a good course and is coming closer to the European Union, the co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for South-eastern Europe, Erhard Busek, said after his meeting with Croatian Premier Ivo
Sanader in Zagreb on Tuesday.
ZAGREB, Feb 24 (Hina) - Croatia is taking a good course and is coming
closer to the European Union, the co-ordinator of the Stability Pact
for South-eastern Europe, Erhard Busek, said after his meeting with
Croatian Premier Ivo Sanader in Zagreb on Tuesday.#L#
Busek said this adding that that through the Stability Pact he would
support Croatia's bids to join the EU.
PM Sanader expressed expectations of the European Council to make a
decision on Croatia's candidate status and start of negotiation in the
second half of June.
"I do not believe that anybody could seek artificial reasons for the
postponement of the start of negotiations," Sanader told reporters,
and added that he informed his guest of Croatia's ambitions and
expectations about a positive opinion (the so-called avis) from
Brussels.
Busek said he was satisfied with first impressions he had got from the
new Croatian government.
He and Sanader shared the position that after 1 May when ten new
members would join the European Union, the EU would direct its
attention to south-eastern Europe. In this context, Busek said that
Zagreb would be in the focus of attention.
This political and social stability of Croatia is important to us,
Busek said. Croatia could set an example to its neighbours and draw
them into the right direction, he added. He recalled that the offices
of the secretariat for cooperation of the countries in the Sava River
basin would be moved to Zagreb, and the Croatian capital would host an
international investment conference this November.
Sanader and Busek agreed that "Croatia could become a bridge between
the EU and the region", as, the Croatian PM said, the EU could not be
complete without this region,
(Hina) ms sb