Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Gordan Jandroković, together with Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković, met with EU members’ ambassadors to inform them about fulfilling obligations for closing Chapter 23 – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights

Minister Jandroković pointed out that today’s meeting was a continuation of the activities to inform representatives of the EU members with the progress in closing Chapter 23

Minister Jandroković pointed out that today’s meeting was a continuation of the activities to inform representatives of the EU members with the progress in closing Chapter 23. He recalled the previous week’s enlarged meeting of the National Committee for Monitoring Croatia’s EU Accession Negotiations, which also saw the attendance of President Ivo Josipović, Parliament Speaker Luka Bebić and Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, and which reconfirmed the consensus that closing the negotiations by end-June remain the goal towards which dedicated work will continue in the coming weeks. In that regard, he pointed out that the Croatian government firmly believed that said goal is attainable and remained adamant in its intent to realize it.

Minister Jandroković announced his attendance of tomorrow’s meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin, during which he will also discuss with the European colleagues the closing of Croatia’s negotiations. He pointed out that Croatia would take an important step forward next week, when Brussels is to host a meeting of the Stabilisation and Association Council, as well as the Intergovernmental Conference on Accession, which will temporarily close two more chapters – 11. Agriculture, and 22. Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments. This will put the total number of temporarily closed chapters at 30. As additional motivation for the Croatian government in closing the negotiations he mentioned the previous week’s visit to Zagreb by President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and Enlargement Commissioner Štefan Füle, and also announced the pending joint visit by foreign ministers of Austria Michael Spindelleger and Slovakia Mikulaš Dzurinda.

Minister Bošnjaković said that since the previous meeting with the ambassadors, Croatia had submitted the first report to the European Commission on the work done in regard to Chapter 23. He pointed out that a lot had been achieved in all the segments, especially as regards independent judiciary, appointing new judges and state attorneys, the functioning of the new State Judiciary Council and the State Attorneys’ Council. He also emphasized that the action plan to deal with the backlogged court cases had in just three months this year reduced the total of 84,000 cases at all of the municipal courts by 14,000.

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