PARIS, Oct 15 (Hina) - France supports Croatia's bids to come closer to the European Union and believes that the problem which has cropped up between Zagreb and The Hague (UN war crimes tribunal), and which might be an obstacle on the
path towards Brussels, is to be solved soon, the head of the French parliament's foreign affairs committee, Edouard Balladur, said on Tuesday.
PARIS, Oct 15 (Hina) - France supports Croatia's bids to come closer
to the European Union and believes that the problem which has
cropped up between Zagreb and The Hague (UN war crimes tribunal),
and which might be an obstacle on the path towards Brussels, is to be
solved soon, the head of the French parliament's foreign affairs
committee, Edouard Balladur, said on Tuesday. #L#
Balladur said this after meeting Croatia's Foreign Minister Tonino
Picula.
The meeting revolved mostly around the EU's enlargement and
Croatia's position in the process as well as around the
ratification by the French parliament of a Stabilisation and
Association Agreement (SAA) concluded by Croatia and the EU.
"There is no doubt that Croatia is among countries which will one
day be candidates for admission to the EU, and I wish it succeeds in
its economic adjustments and economic and social reforms," on the
path, Balladur said.
He declined to give a more detailed comment on the issue of
cooperation between Zagreb and the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), saying only that it seemed to him
that the problem was going to be solved.
The issue of cooperation between Croatia and the ICTY was the
central topic of talks which Picula held with his French
counterpart, Dominique de Villepin, on Monday. After the meeting,
Picula said the issue of the ICTY's indictment against General
Janko Bobetko must be solved by the end of October.
What seems more important to me for the future is the niche which
Croatia can take one day in the EU and I would like it to take that
place as soon as possible, Balladur said.
Croatia has already announced that it is going to submit its
application for its full membership in the EU in 2003.
"I asked for the French parliament's support, in particular
regarding the ratification of the Stabilisation and Association
Agreement," the Croatian minister said expressing his hope that it
would happen in the next few months.
The SAA has to date been ratified by six of 15 EU member-states and
the European Parliament.
8hina) ms sb