MOSTAR, Feb 26 (Hina) - The great old dream of a united Europe cannot be completed without all countries of south-east Europe, and therefore Croatia is expecting to receive a positive answer from the European Commission about its EU
membership application this summer, Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said on Thursday in his speech at a two-day international conference on investments in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
MOSTAR, Feb 26 (Hina) - The great old dream of a united Europe cannot
be completed without all countries of south-east Europe, and therefore
Croatia is expecting to receive a positive answer from the European
Commission about its EU membership application this summer, Croatian
Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said on Thursday in his speech at a two-day
international conference on investments in Bosnia-Herzegovina.#L#
"The process of drawing closer to the European Union and NATO
increases our responsibility for the promotion of democratic stability
and good neighbourly relations. We are fully aware of this
responsibility and and we are completely ready to assume it," PM
Sanader told participants in the conference in Mostar. He went on to
say that this would be the best model to contribute to cutting off
ties with uncertainties from the past.
Financial and political investments are inseparable, Sanader said
adding that Zagreb fully supports the ongoing reform processes in
Bosnia, particularly in the economy and efforts to establish a single
market and judiciary.
Croatian Premier said that with the conclusion of the agreement on
free trade significant progress had been made, and it was now up to
business people to assess its ranges.
He called on interested parties to use business possibilities of
Bosnia, which Croatia, as its neighbour, strongly supports.
Croatia, which is the biggest investor in Bosnia, would like to solve
all the remaining open issues in the relations with this neighbour,
Sanader said adding that Bosnia was one of the most important markets
for Croatia and vice versa.
The Adriatic-Ionian Highway, the Vc corridor, joint investments in the
port of Ploce, aluminium production, the power supply system are only
some of the fields important for both countries. Besides, Croatia is
going to stimulate investments in the private sector though programmes
of its Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Investments in Bosnia are for all of us also investments in stability,
cooperation and development of our part of Europe. In this sense
Croatia will back the active role of European Union in Bosnia," the
Croatian official said adding that he would like to send from the
Mostar conference the message that Europe could not stop the process
of its enlargement after May 1 when ten new countries would join it.
There is no united Europe if this part of Europe is not inside that
process. We in Croatia expect to receive this spring the EC's positive
response to our application and to be given the status of a candidate,
too. I am sure that this would be a good sing not only for Croatia but
also for all countries in our neighbourhood that a new leaf could be
turned over despite great difficulties we had in the 1990s, Sanader
said.
(Hina) ms sb