”The European Commission has today placed Croatia in the final stages of the process towards EU membership. Croatia’s EU entry is key in opening up the path to European integration for the rest of the region”, said Gunnar Hökmark (EPP, SE), the newly appointed Chairman of the EP Delegation to the EU-Croatia Joint Parliamentary Committee, reacting to the Progress Report on Croatia unveiled today by the European Commission.
The Progress Report is a document published yearly by the European Commission that evaluates progress made by countries which are candidates or potential candidates for becoming members of the European Union.
”The report notes that Croatia has made considerable progress in all areas, maintaining political and economic stability in the face of global crisis that has invariably had an impact also on Croatian economy,” said Hökmark.
”The Government led by the new Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor is successfully seeing through some of the toughest reforms on Croatia’s way to EU membership. Prime Minister Kosor had a key role in the recent Ljubljana-Zagreb agreement which allowed to resume negotiations earlier this month. Now that the two sides are in the process of finding a solution to the 18-year old border dispute, EU accession negotiations with Croatia can enter a final phase and should to be concluded next year.”
”Croatia has come far but is aware that the bar has been set high – the country now needs to buckle down in the last meters and implement/complete the necessary reforms in the judiciary, public administration and the fight against corruption. As a Swedish MEP, I am looking forward to dynamic and rapid progress also with the help of the Presidency-in-Office of the Council, including in such important matters as competition, fisheries or the environment.” continued Hökmark.
”The case of Croatia shows the success of a tailor-made approach of the European Union to each country in South-East Europe, a region which is, economically and politically, very disparate.”
”The legally binding assurances that have dispelled the fears of the Irish and made way for Ireland to hold the second Lisbon referendum will be annexed to the next piece of primary law on the EU’s agenda. Judging by Croatia’s progress this could in a short time be the Croatian Accession Treaty.” concluded Chairman Hökmark.
Brussels, 14 October 2009
For more information:
Gunnar Hökmark MEP, tel.: +32-2-284-5822
Delegation Secretariat, tel.: +32.2.284.26.43