Meeting of the Joint Croatian-Italian Commission for Fishery and Ecology was held in Rome...

Today, a meeting of the Joint Croatian-Italian Commission for Fishery and Ecology at the Adriatic was held in Rome. The Croatian delegation was headed by Mr. Mario Nobilo, Assistant Foreign Minister, and Mr. Ivan Katović, Assistant Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. The Italian delegation was headed by Mr. Vittorio Paolini from the Direction for Europe of the Italian Foreign Ministry.

The delegations also included experts from various fields. Discussion was conducted on the basis of Position paper which the Croatian Government prepared for the preparatory meeting, on the topic of the future of fishery policy in the Mediterranean, to be held in Brussels on 22 September 2003.

The Italian side expressed its understanding for international legal, scientific and technical documentation contained in the Position paper, but warned of political circumstances of possible decisions made by the Croatian Parliament whose time frame should take into consideration a wider international context.

Both the Italian and Croatian side agreed that during the preparations of the Ministerial Conference in Venice in late November, and after it, it is necessary to intensify international cooperation of the Adriatic states in implementing measures for preserving the Adriatic. The Italian side accepted the participation of all Adriatic states at the meeting, on 23 September 2003 in Brussels, on the margins of the preparatory meeting for Venice, and which the Croatia initiated for this purpose.

The Croatian side presented to the Italian side all basic arguments because of which, pursuant to the EU policy for the Mediterranean, it is necessary to extend the jurisdiction of coastal states at the Adriatic, but also informed it about the course of discussion that is conducted on this topic in the Republic of Croatia. Both sides achieved a high degree of agreement concerning the necessity to undertake certain measures with a view to protecting marine environment, safety of navigation, and viable fishing at the Adriatic. The resumption of multilateral and bilateral cooperation was agreed.

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