The European Council adopted a decision in Brussels today to open accession negotiations with Croatia on 17 March 2005.
Croatia to Start EU Entry Talks in March 2005
BRUSSELS, December 17 -- The European Council adopted a decision in Brussels today to open accession negotiations with Croatia on 17 March 2005.
At a press conference marking the end of the two-day summit, European Council Chairman Jan Peter Balkenende of The Netherlands said that Croatia “deserved this decision.”
Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, who participated in the last part of the summit along with the prime ministers of other EU candidate countries said, “This is one of the most important dates in recent Croatian history.”
The Presidency conclusions of the European Council noted with satisfaction the progress made by Croatia in preparation for the opening of accession negotiations. It requested the Council “to agree on that framework with a view to opening the accession negotiations on 17 March 2005 provided that there is full cooperation with the ICTY.”
Addressing reporters in Brussels, Prime Minister Sanader said, “I am going to say very clearly that Croatia is fully cooperating” with the ICTY. “We are fully committed to this cooperation.”
He also said, “We have yet to resolve the one outstanding case and I want to believe that we will do it very soon.”
Croatia gained the status of an EU candidate country in June 2004 at the European Council summit in Brussels. Marking this event, EU leaders stated, “The achievement of candidate status by Croatia should be an encouragement to other countries of the Western Balkans to pursue their reforms.”
This followed the positive opinion, the so-called avis, from the European Commission on Croatia’s EU membership application in April 2004 in Strasbourg. After presenting the avis, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen said that Croatia was economically well set for membership.
Croatia signed the Stabilisation & Associational Agreement (SAA) with the EU in 2001.
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