Minister Grabar-Kitarović participated at International Parliamentary Conference entitled EU Enlargement: Perspectives for SEE Countries

Minister Grabar-Kitarović opened the conference, organised by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, with a speech in which she pointed out that Croatia places great importance on meeting the political and economic criteria, harmonising the legislature, and strengthening the administrative capabilities necessary for an efficient implementation of the acquis communautaire, stressing that Croatia has put forth significant effort to satisfy the criteria for participating in the political, social, and economic life of the European Union.

She pointed out that combating corruption and organised crime is an important priority in that process, noting the recently-adopted National Program for Combating Corruption. Significant progress has been made in the field of human rights and minority protection, which is closely linked to the refugee return issue. Minister Grabar-Kitarović pointed out that Croatia is paying special attention to the protection of minority rights and has reached the highest international standards in that field.

Speaking about the EU membership negotiations, Minister Grabar-Kitarović emphasized the fact that a year after the beginning of the screening process, that phase of the negotiations was successfully brought to an end. She expressed her general satisfaction with the quality and dynamics of the negotiations, stating Croatia’s expectations for the speeding up of the negotiations process as regards the preparation of and discussion about the European Commission’s Report on individual chapters. The Republic of Croatia expects the decisions on opening and provisory closing of chapters will be based on the principle of individual approach.

In her speech, Minister Grabar-Kitarović stressed that one of Croatia’s foreign policy priorities is the co-operation with the neighbours and countries in the region, based on mutual respect of the principles of the international law, unique characteristics of the relations, and past experiences. The Republic of Croatia considers the setting up of stability and progress in the region one of the key interests, and is willing to transfer its experiences in Euro-Atlantic integration processes to other SEE countries. Special attention has been paid to the forms of co-operation in SEE whose aim is to strengthen the ownership over regional initiatives, and Minister Grabar-Kitarović pointed out in that regard the South-East European Co-operation Process, which Croatia is currently presiding over. She also noted the CEFTA enlargement as a form of economic co-operation in the region and a preparation for the EU market.

Minister Grabar-Kitarović concluded her speech stating that EU membership perspective is a strong motivational factor for the SEE countries to carry on with the begun reforms. Speaking about the enlargement as one of the most successful EU policies, Minister Grabar-Kitarović stated that Croatia expects to become the 28th EU member, basing that on the progress that has been made in numerous fields and has taken Croatia to an advanced stage of the integration process.