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English / World
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Barroso says European Commission remains committed to Croatia's EU entry
Zagreb, July 23 (MIA) - The European Commission remains committed to the common goal of Croatia joining the European Union and despite the current difficulties due to Slovenia's blockade, Zagreb should continue with the required reforms, Hina quoted EC president Jose Manuel Barroso as saying in Brussels on Thursday after talks with Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor.
It is now more important than ever to continue with reforms and meet all the membership requirements as soon as possible, said Barroso.
The best thing Croatia can do is to continue with membership preparations and to show that reforms are giving results. This means continuing with reforms, improving cooperation with the Hague war crimes tribunal, impartially prosecuting war crimes in Croatia, and completing the refugee return process, Barroso said, adding the European Commission remained committed to enlargement and Croatia's membership.
Kosor chose Brussels for her first destination abroad since becoming prime minister, where she met Barroso and European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek.
She stressed that completing accession negotiations with the EU remained one of her cabinet's priorities, and voiced confidence that Croatia would do its part of the job by the end of this or the beginning of next year.
Kosor announced that she would meet Slovene Prime Minister Borut Pahor soon in an attempt to resolve the stalemate in the negotiations over a bilateral border dispute.
Despite the current blockade, we are continuing to do our job, with full intensity, will, strength and determination to see it through, she said, adding that she informed Barroso of the efforts the Croatian government was making.
Kosor said Croatia wanted the cooperation with the Hague war crimes tribunal to be recognised as full, which she said it was.
We did and will do everything that is in our interest, and that is full cooperation, in conformity with the constitutional law, she said.
Kosor went on to say that she and Barroso also discussed judicial reform and what Croatia should do about its shipbuilding industry.
Croatia has come far in the accession negotiations and will continue to move forward, she said.
Speaking of her expectations of the meeting with Pahor, Kosor told Barroso she believed it would be constructive and that things would move forward. She said she would once again point out to Pahor that Croatia deserved to complete its accession negotiations with the EU and that it expected the problems to be resolved.
The fact remains that Slovenia had outstanding border issues as it was joining NATO and the EU and it was not a problem, Kosor said, adding that she expected concrete proposals and that Croatia would put forward proposals as well.
Asked by the press if Croatia was ready to resume the negotiations based on Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn's initiative for resolving the Croatian-Slovene border dispute, Kosor recalled that Croatia had approved Rehn's initial proposal in parliament.
We are open for further talks. It is in our interest that this process be completed. We are finishing are commitments and want everything that Croatia and its government are doing to be recognised in Europe, including in Slovenia, said Kosor.
Asked if the European Commission was preparing a new initiative for the settlement of the dispute, Barroso said the EC had extended its services over six months but that, unfortunately, a solution could not be found.
After six months of intensive efforts, it is now up to the two neighbouring countries to talk and find a solution, he said, adding he welcomed the upcoming Kosor-Pahor meeting.
Asked to comment on Croatian President Stjepan Mesic's recent statement in Munich that the EU was responsible for the loss of enthusiasm about EU accession among Croatian citizens, Barroso said that, as a rule, he did not comment on comments, but added that Croatia was the one deciding whether it wanted to join the EU.
He said that as he understood from his talks with Kosor, there was a strong wish to join the EU in Croatia. Therefore, that is our common goal, as the EU wants it too, and it is in the interest of both the EU and Croatia, he added.
European Parliament President Buzek, too, applauded the Croatian government's determination to complete the accession negotiations.
We have a small standstill because of a bilateral issue between Croatia and Slovenia but the most important thing for us is that PM Kosor said that the resumption of the negotiations is her cabinet's first priority, Buzek said, while Kosor said that by choosing Brussels for her first trip abroad as Croatia's new premier, she wanted to send out a signal that the negotiations remained one of Croatia's most important priorities.
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