"The law will go into force as soon as possible, by 1 January 2014 at the latest," Miljenic told reporters after a meeting with Reding.
Croatia had already expressed willingness to amend the contentious law and enforce it as of 1 July 2014, but this was unacceptable to the European Commission. Last week, the Commission began consultations with member countries on the activation of a safeguard clause from Croatia's EU accession treaty because the law in question was not aligned with the acquis. The member countries had ten working days to state their positions.
This was followed by intensive diplomatic activity and contacts to prevent the imposition of sanctions. On the day the Commission announced the possible sanctions, Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic spoke on the phone with Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. They agreed to do everything to prevent the sanctions, after which Croatian representatives were constantly in contact with the Commission.