Croatian Prime Minister H.E. Dr. Ivo Sanader met United Nations Secretary General H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon in New York to talk about the Slovene blockade of Croatia's EU entry talks, the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the region, global hots spots, and Croatia's activities in the UN Security Council and UN reforms.
Croatian Prime Minister H.E. Dr. Ivo Sanader met United Nations Secretary General H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon in New York to talk about the Slovene blockade of Croatia's EU entry talks, the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the region, global hots spots, and Croatia's activities in the UN Security Council and UN reforms.
Sanader said he informed Ban Ki-moon of the reasons of Slovene blockade of Croatia's EU accession negotiations lasting six months already.
"I told him what I've been saying in Croatia and in Europe, so let the UN know as well - Slovenia entered the EU and NATO in 2004 with the same outstanding issue and there isn't a single reason for Croatia not to take the same path, which we had shown already when it comes to NATO," Sanader said after the meeting with the UN secretary general that lasted for almost an hour.
The PM said the UN secretary general carefully listened to arguments for Croatia's request to Slovenia to unblock its EU entry talks, but declined to talk about Ban Ki-moon's assessments concerning the issue.
Sanader reiterated that during yesterday's meeting in New York, he and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn stressed Croatia could wrap up the negotiations by the end of 2009. However, the fact is that Slovenia has been blocking our entry talks for the past six months, without a justified reason because a bilateral issue cannot be the reason to block a neighbour, Sanader said.
"I told the secretary general that Croatia will not treat its neighbours this way. We believe this is not right, not in a European fashion, not fair and not correct. I call on Slovenia from New York to unblock the negotiations," Sanader said, stressing that the two countries could continue the negotiations on the settlement of their border dispute, with the mediation of the European Commission the the EU Troika.
The PM said June was a very important month and that this was the month when Zagreb's EU entry talks could be unblocked "if the European Commission, the European Union and Slovenia realise that this is the watershed moment," and if the negotiations are not unblock in June "Slovenia will lose its credibility and reputation."
At the meeting with Ban Ki-moon, the Croatian PM advocated that the international community attach more attention to the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The talks also focused on the nuclear threat from North Korea and the peace processes in the Neat East.
Sanader also informed the UN secretary general of Croatia's cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
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