Croatian Foreign Minister Miomir Žužul is taking part at the 114th session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, taking place 12-13 May 2004 in Strasbourg
In his speech, Minister Žužul welcomed the recent EU enlargement and expressed his hope that the Council of the European Union will confirm in June the European Commission’s recommendations from the Opinion of 20 April 2004 and determine the star of the membership negotiations with Croatia. Minister Žužul welcomed the adoption of Protocol 14, adding that the Court of Human Rights reform will not diminish the individual’s rights for individual appeals, but rather provide the Court with additional mechanisms for quick and efficient protection of the rights of the individual. Minister Žužul announced Croatia’s readiness to sign Protocol 14, thereby giving its concrete contribution to the continuation of the Court’s activities.
Tonight, Minister Žužul will take part at an informal meeting, with the presence of Secretary General of the Council of Europe Walter Schwimmer and, as a special guest, Harri Holkeri, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Kosovo, along with the other ministers.
On the margins of the 114th session Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Minister Žužul met separately with four ministers – Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, Irish Minister for European Affairs Dick Roche, Slovakian Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan, and Latvian Foreign Minister Richard Piks, who expressed their countries’ support to Croatia’s efforts to get the candidate status and the decision to start the negotiations for full EU membership at the meeting of the Council of the European Union mid-June 2004 in Bruxelles.
Tomorrow, 13 May 2004, the Committee of Ministers of the EU Members will continue its session, at which the Croatian delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Žužul, is also taking part.
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