ZAGREB, April 27 (Hina) - By approaching the European Union and NATO and obtaining the status of candidate country, which it hopes will happen this June, Croatia will not "run away" from the region. On the contrary, it will represent
its neighbours in Europe, Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
ZAGREB, April 27 (Hina) - By approaching the European Union and NATO
and obtaining the status of candidate country, which it hopes will
happen this June, Croatia will not "run away" from the region. On the
contrary, it will represent its neighbours in Europe, Croatian Prime
Minister Ivo Sanader said in Strasbourg on Tuesday.#L#
In his address to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
at the Assembly's spring session, Sanader said his country had two
parallel priorities: membership in the EU and NATO and regional
cooperation.
After June, we shall have no 'fugitive intentions' from the region,
Sanader said.
In the EU we shall represent our neighbours as we shall represent the
EU in our neighbouring countries, the Croatian PM added.
Croatia is making efforts to create "adequate conditions and has
undertaken necessary measures - including the allocation of
significant financial resources - in respect of the process of the
return of refugees and the refugees and the reconstruction of property
damaged as a result of war," he said.
"My Government wishes to turn a new page - to look towards the future
and offer an opportunity to all its citizens for a better life
unburdened with national disputes and wrangling with the past long
gone," he said.
Asked by a member of the Parliamentary Assembly about plans for
compensation for houses and flats confiscated during the war and
subsequently sold to third parties, Sanader said that he personally
gave assurances for property restitution. All property will be given
back to rightful owners, and if that is impossible we shall seek
alternative solutions.
In this context, Sanader called on the governments of
Serbia-Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina to do the same with regard to
the property of Croats expelled from the former Yugoslavia and
Bosnia.
Croatia's cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal "has been
positively assessed by the Prosecutor of the Tribunal. Positive
evaluation of Croatia's cooperation with the ICTY has been equally
confirmed in the European Commission avis of last week," Sanader
added.
He went on to say that the EC opinion would not have been positive, if
Croatia had not met three European political criteria: return of
refugees, cooperation with the UN tribunal and reform of the
judiciary.
Asked by a deputy from Bosnia about the future of the Dayton peace
accords that ended war in Bosnia ten years ago, the Croatian official
said that "Croatia had no individual approach, and the three
constituent peoples (in Bosnia) must decide on the matter in
cooperation with the international community". The Dayton accords were
signed in 1995 and Croatia was aware then that the deal was not ideal
but that it would stop the war, he said.
He thanked the European Union and the United States for helping to
achieve the peace agreement.
Asked by another deputy what kind of help Slovenia, which is already a
NATO member and which will join the EU on 1 May, could offer to
Croatia on the path towards European integration, Sanader answered
that Slovenia, Hungary and Italy could provide great assistance as
Croatia's neighbours.
We have some outstanding issues with Slovenia which we shall try to
solve through bilateral talks. If we fail to find a solution, we shall
resort to international arbitration, but our bilateral relations are
good, Sanader said adding that Zagreb needed Slovene expert assistance
on the path towards the EU and NATO.
The Croatian Prime Minister on Tuesday met Parliamentary Assembly
President Peter Schieder, Council of Europe Secretary-General, Walter
Schwimmer, Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Alvaro
Gil-Robles and the president of the European Court of Human Rights,
Luzius Wildhaber.
The Croatian delegation also included Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul
and Culture Minister Bozo Biskupic.
(Hina) ms