”I very much welcome this meeting and I hope that the next meeting we will have very soon and in a different context, once Croatia becomes an EU Member State”, said Gunnar Hökmark MEP, Vice-Chairman of the EPP Group and the Chairman of the EU-Croatia Joint Parliamentary Committee, after meeting with Gordan Jandroković, the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Croatia.
Hökmark recalled his statements from last week in welcoming the positive progress report on Croatia. He said ”It is now important for Croatia to move ahead with the judiciary and the fight against the corruption. By becoming to some extent a role model, Croatia will clear the table of those that might be hesitant. It will also have a great impact on other countries in the region in terms of credibility of their own membership prospects”.
”By sending a positive message to the region, Croatia will also make a contribution to the EU as such”, concluded Hökmark.
Both Gunnar Hökmark MEP and Gordan Jandroković will participate in the conference to be held this afternoon on European perspectives of South-East Europe.
For more information:
Gunnar Hökmark MEP, tel.: +32-2-284-5822
Lada Jurica, tel.: +32-476-330383
Note to Editors:
The EPP Group is by far the largest political group in the European Parliament with 265 Members.
The EU-Croatia Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is a body that brings together twice a year representatives of the European Parliament and of the Croatian Parliament to follow progress in Croatia’s EU accession process. The JPC is co-chaired by Gunnar Hökmark MEP (EPP, SE), on the side of the European Parliament, and Marija Pejčinović-Burić (HDZ, EPP) on the side of the Croatian Parliament.