We are ready for new negotiations on fishing zone

After the meeting of the Quadrilateral, it seems that two of the biggest obstacles in the political relations with Italy and Slovenia have been removed. That is partially correct. With this meeting, the Quadrilateral is back on its original track, from a time when it was still a Trilateral, established for the purposed of assisting Slovenia and Hungary on their way towards the EU and NATO. Our idea was for this initiative to do the same now for Croatia, which has been agreed on. In its final document, the Quadrilateral stated its assistance to Croatia on its road to the EU and NATO as its priority.

Now, when Prime Ministers Sanader, Rop and Berlusconi did their part in creating a positive atmosphere, finding solutions to open issues will now be experts’ and diplomats’ job. What are your priorities? It is hard to talk of dynamics just yet. The first meetings are going to be our confirmation of Prime Minister’s words, that we are willing to talk about each step in a positive and friendly atmosphere. But it is only later that we will see which problems will be the hardest, and which will prove to be our priority.

Slovenian magazine Delo published the Berlusconi-Rop agreement, according to which, if by the end of July no agreement is reached on the fishing zone, their respective countries will ask of the European Commission to intervene or, if need be, ask for the whole thing to be postponed. We are willing to negotiate the implementation of the fishing zone decision. That decision was reached by the Croatian parliament, and we need to implement it and have no intention of changing it, regardless of the fact that we have criticised it before as former opposition. Besides, reasons form harmonising with Slovenia and Italy are not the same. And finally, our key issue is approaching the EU and NATO membership. All other issues are going to be solved as well, but they do not have such importance.