Minister Gordan Jandroković headed Croatian delegation at 4th meeting of EU-Croatia Stabilisation and Association Council

Apart from Minister Jandroković, the meeting also saw the participation of EU Council’s President and Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and EU Council’s Secretary General Javier Solana, and EU Enlargement Commissioner, representing the European Commission, Olli Rehn.

The topics of the meeting concerned the bilateral relations between Croatia and the EU in light of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, situation in the Western Balkans, as well as the issues from the area of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy.

Minister Jandroković communicated the Croatian side’s satisfaction with the meeting, as well as with the exchange of opinions on the current state of the accession negotiations, the fulfilment of the political and economic criteria, and the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. He pointed out that this is the Council’s highest commendation so far, and that the EU recognises and applauds Croatia’s progress since the Council’s last meeting.

He added that Croatia is fully dedicated to the implementation of the necessary reforms and to the meeting of all the conditions aimed at closing the negotiations by the end of the summer 2009. In that regard, Croatia will meet and submit to the European Commission all of the remaining measures during Slovenia’s EU Presidency.

At the end of the meeting, a Joint Press Release was issued, attached in full below:

• Joint Press Release