Q:
A:
Croatia, Serbia on the road to European integration
Belgrade,
1 April 2005
Croatian Ambassador to Serbia-Montenegro Tonci Stanicic said today that it is very important to his country to have a stable and democratic Serbia as a partner on the road to European integration.
Author:
Fonet
The two countries will make progress if they rely on each other, Stanicic told a panel on European integration, organised by the Serbian EU Integration Office and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
Stanicic said that the relations between the two countries have been very good so far and he added that last year’s visit by Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader to Belgrade was of great significance when it comes to economic cooperation between Serbia and Croatia, given that neither of the two economies is strong enough to compete in the most developed foreign markets.
According to Stanicic, the potential for trade between Serbia and Croatia is around $1 billion, while last year’s volume of trade was some $300 million.
He could not specify how Croatia will meet its final obligation towards the Hague tribunal in order to start membership negotiations with the EU and he added that the condition for the talks is not for Croatia to hand over general Ante Gotovina but rather to prove that he is not hiding in Croatia.
Stanicic said that “Euroscepticism” has grown in Croatia after membership talks were postponed on March 17, but he added that this should not be associated with the “Gotovina case”.
Stanicic recalled that Croatia had been given 626 requirements to start negotiations and that it managed to meet all of them, except for the handover of Gotovina.
According to him, citizens of Croatia saw the postponement as “looking for a needle in a haystack”, given that Croatia has made more progress in some areas than some countries that have recently joined the EU.
He added that the Croatian example illustrates that there can be no bargaining about requirements for joining the EU but rather that they all must be fulfilled.
Stanicic said that cooperation with the Hague tribunal should not be taken emotionally, because it is an international obligation that must be fulfilled, and he stressed that the most important thing is that his country is ready for EU negotiations.
According to him, Croatia has already met 15 out of some 30 conditions for EU membership, adding that the country expects to be admitted to the EU by the end of 2008.
Stanicic said that the relations between the two countries have been very good so far and he added that last year’s visit by Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader to Belgrade was of great significance when it comes to economic cooperation between Serbia and Croatia, given that neither of the two economies is strong enough to compete in the most developed foreign markets.
According to Stanicic, the potential for trade between Serbia and Croatia is around $1 billion, while last year’s volume of trade was some $300 million.
He could not specify how Croatia will meet its final obligation towards the Hague tribunal in order to start membership negotiations with the EU and he added that the condition for the talks is not for Croatia to hand over general Ante Gotovina but rather to prove that he is not hiding in Croatia.
Stanicic said that “Euroscepticism” has grown in Croatia after membership talks were postponed on March 17, but he added that this should not be associated with the “Gotovina case”.
Stanicic recalled that Croatia had been given 626 requirements to start negotiations and that it managed to meet all of them, except for the handover of Gotovina.
According to him, citizens of Croatia saw the postponement as “looking for a needle in a haystack”, given that Croatia has made more progress in some areas than some countries that have recently joined the EU.
He added that the Croatian example illustrates that there can be no bargaining about requirements for joining the EU but rather that they all must be fulfilled.
Stanicic said that cooperation with the Hague tribunal should not be taken emotionally, because it is an international obligation that must be fulfilled, and he stressed that the most important thing is that his country is ready for EU negotiations.
According to him, Croatia has already met 15 out of some 30 conditions for EU membership, adding that the country expects to be admitted to the EU by the end of 2008.
-
Belgrade, 22 January 2025Egypt one of Serbia’s closest partners on international stage
-
Belgrade, 9 July 2024Support for 104 associations in diaspora that preserve Serbian language, culture
-
Belgrade, 15 April 2024Competition for StarTech grants open until 31 May
-
Belgrade, 2 October 2023Serbia respects Resolution 1244 and will do everything to preserve peace
-
Belgrade, 13 September 2023Day of Serbian Unity to be celebrated outside borders of Serbia, Republika Srpska for the first time
-
Belgrade, 8 August 2023RSD 24.2m in state aid paid out to citizens affected by storm
-
Belgrade, 17 June 2023Belgrade is doing everything to preserve peace in Kosovo and Metohija
-
Belgrade, 15 June 2023Slovenia will continue to support Serbia on its way to EU
-
Belgrade, 5 May 2023Emergency measures, tightening of conditions for possessing weapons
-
Belgrade, 3 May 2023Three days of mourning in Serbia over tragedy at Vladislav Ribnikar primary school