ZAGREB, April 9 (Hina) - Great Britain will not vote for a positive European Commission opinion on Croatia's European Union membership application as long as the case of the fugitive General Ante Gotovina, who is wanted by the war
crimes tribunal in The Hague, remains unsolved, British Minister for Europe Dennis MacShane has said.
ZAGREB, April 9 (Hina) - Great Britain will not vote for a positive
European Commission opinion on Croatia's European Union membership
application as long as the case of the fugitive General Ante Gotovina,
who is wanted by the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, remains
unsolved, British Minister for Europe Dennis MacShane has said.#L#
In an interview with the Easter edition of Jutarnji List daily which
hits news stands on Saturday, MacShane said Great Britain wanted
Croatia to be an example of excellence for all other countries of the
Western Balkans and hoped Croatia would act in accordance with the
highest European standards.
He said that to achieve those standards Croatia had to completely
resolve the issue of cooperation with the Hague tribunal, and added
that Great Britain expected Croatia to do its utmost so that Gotovina
ended up in The Hague.
Asked if this meant Croatia would not obtain a positive opinion on its
membership application as long as the Gotovina case remained open,
MacShane said Great Britain would not vote for Croatia as long as
Croatia did not do everything that it was expected to.
He went on to say that many European countries, not just Britain, felt
that the current level of Croatia's cooperation with the tribunal in
The Hague posed a hurdle to Croatia's European integration.
We expect the Croatian government to give in the next two to three
weeks a statement about the positive outcome of the Gotovina case,
which would solve every problem, MacShane said.
The British minister voiced disbelief that nobody in Croatia, neither
security systems nor intelligence agencies, was able to track down
Gotovina.
If any British officer were accused of what General Gotovina is
accused, rest assured that we would find him in any part of the planet
to prove that Great Britain honours the international system, he was
quoted as saying.
Nonetheless, he is optimistic about Croatia's admission to the EU if
it fulfils all of its commitments.
I think it is possible to catch up with Bulgaria and Romania. If
Croatia meets all the conditions that have been set and completes the
complicated negotiations, I think it can enter the EU as early as the
next enlargement round, MacShane said.
(Hina) ha