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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Europe: the common goal of Serbia and Croatia

Belgrade, 22 November 2005

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said today that bilateral relations of Serbia and Croatia, with minor oscillations, have been improving since the agreement on normalisation of relations between the two countries was signed in 1996.

Vojislav Kostunica

In an interview to Croatian news agency Hina on the occasion of tomorrow’s official visit to Croatia, Kostunica said that bilateral relations are constantly improving, owing to cooperation of competent ministries and institutions.

He said that this can be seen in the dialogue of the two countries, which have the same political goals and the same view on the future of the region in different spheres – from politics and the economy to culture, and added that with the visit of Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader to Belgrade in November last year, the good level of cooperation has been additionally improved.

The Serbian Prime Minister recalled that the cooperation was improved in 2001 when two joint statements were signed on solving the refugee problem and property issues of Serbs in Croatia.

Kostunica said that more encouragement can be seen in increased trade exchange and privatisation processes that have been launched. He said that it is necessary that both states be equally open to participation of Serbian and Croatian businessmen in investment and privatisation processes.

Kostunica said that cultural cooperation is satisfactory, and gave as an example the agreement on joint celebration of the 150th anniversary of the scientist Nikola Tesla’s birth.

Speaking about sport, the Serbian Prime Minister said that it seems that bad times are behind us because the latest competitions between the countries’ national teams show that incidents on sport’s “battlefields” can be avoided.

Kostunica said that the position of ethnic minorities in both countries has improved and that consistent implementation of the agreement on the protection of minorities is an added guarantee for realising the rights of minorities, but he also expressed great sorrow because of the fact that not even ten years after the war, there are still people, both on the Serbian and Croatian side, who do not know the fate of missing loved ones.

Kostunica said that no matter how painful the issue might be, it should be approached rationally and the work of both commissions should be accelerated so that this problem is resolved as fast as possible. He proposed that a single inventory of all missing persons on the territories of each state be made, regardless of ethnic origin.

Kostunica said that he considers it to be the right method of resolving that very painful issue and one which will exclude any politicization of the problem, adding that further improved cooperation between judicial institutions should contribute to resolution of outstanding questions.

Speaking about the open questions that are priorities for the Serbian side, Kostunica mentioned the problems connected with rights to property, the renovation of damaged property and tenant rights.

According to Kostunica, unfortunately there have been incidents based on nationality, and there is a problem concerning arrest warrants for Croatian citizens of Serb nationality, as well as their arrests, which are often not grounded in evidence.

Kostunica expressed conviction that Prime Minister Sanader and he, in the spirit of understanding that has marked all their earlier talks, will succeed in realising preconditions so that first problems can be lessened, and with time eliminated.

He said that it is expected that the meeting with Sanader will result in agreement on further improvement of bilateral cooperation, expansion of an existing agreement on cooperation in the fields of judiciary and property-legal relations, the establishment of effective consular regulations, as well as cross-border cooperation concerning a number of issues, among others the case of dealing with natural disasters.

Kostunica said that he will propose work on agreements in the area of transport, telecommunications, agriculture and cultural-educational cooperation, and as a good example of such cooperation he mentioned the reopening of the Bac-Vukovar ferryboat line, as well as the upcoming renovation of the railway bridge on the Danube.

Speaking on the importance of Serbian-Croatian regional cooperation, he said that he values Sanader’s position who said “it is the duty of all in the region that with their experience and knowledge of actual conditions they help the international community in their efforts to find the right solution for Kosovo-Metohija which cannot be without the agreement of Belgrade.”

Kostunica said that the common aim of Serbia and Croatia is Europe, and good neighbourly relations are a significant precondition to realise that aim. He said that this is only one of the reasons for investing in additional patience, tact and goodwill, so that mutual cooperation can be improved.