We are very satisfied with the outcome of today's conference and I am sure that this was not the last chapter to be closed this month," Croatia's Chief Negotiator Vladimir Drobnjak said adding that the end of the negotiations was now just round the corner.
Today's accession conference was held at the ambassadorial level, bringing together chief negotiators.
"We are also satisfied with the content of the agreement on the Fisheries policy chapter. I think that all of our vital interests at the Adriatic, interests of the Croatian fisheries sector and fishermen are fully protected," he said.
I believe once Croatia joins the EU, we will be able to protect even better our national interests including the protection of the Adriatic sea and people living there, he added.
Hungarian Ambassador Peter Gyorkos, whose country is presiding over the EU in the first half of 2011, said that a European Commission official had told today's conference that drafts of the negotiating positions on the remaining four chapters would be forwarded to the Council of the European Union in the coming days.
We carefully listened to what the European Commission representative was saying. He said that the Commission was completing drafts of the negotiating positions on the remaining four policy areas and that they would be forwarded to the Council of the EU in the coming days, he said.
The ambassador added that Hungary would do its best to see to it that Croatia's EU entry talks are closed by the end of its EU presidency if the European Commission's assessment was positive.
With the closing of that policy area No. 13 on fisheries, Croatia has four chapters left to close: Chapter 23 - Judiciary and Fundamental Rights, Chapter 8 - Competition Policy, Chapter 33 - Finance and Budgetary Provisions, and Chapter 35 - Other Issues.
Croatia has managed to ensure transitional periods for local fishermen using trawl boats until 2014. Thus Istrian fishers with trawlers, can go up to 1.5 mile off the coast until 30 June 2014, while in the EU there is a three-mile ban. There is a possibility for permanent exemption of the three-mile ban for Croatian fishermen with trawl-nets provided that Croatia adopts acceptable plans for managing fish stocks after it enters the Union.
Four Croatian islands -- Lastovo, Mljet, Vis and Dugi Otok -- are granted a special status in co-financing projects from the European Fisheries Fund, which envisages an 85-percent participation of the EU in the funding those projects, instead of the usual EU share of 75 percent.
Croatia will be allowed to retain a majority of its traditional fishing tools.
Being an EU member, Croatia will be able to withdraw over 30 million euros from the European Fisheries Fund annually.
All fishing vessels will be equipped with satellite monitoring systems.
The negotiations on the Fisheries policy area were the longest one. Screening for this area was completed in June 2006, while a report on the screening was forwarded to the Council of the EU in July 2008. Croatia delivered its negotiating position on 26 September 2008, and the policy chapter was opened not before 19 February 2010.