Minister Picula and leading Croatian businessmen, Mr. Günter Verheugen...

During yesterday's dinner in Brussels with Mr. Tonino Picula, the Croatian Foreign Minister, and the leading Croatian businessmen, Mr. Günter Verheugen, European Commissioner for the Enlargement of the European Commission, expressed once again his support to Croatia on its path to full membership in the European Union.

In informal conversation, Mr. Verheugen commended the achievements of Croatia during the past four years and expressed his belief that Croatia will continue with the process of speedy accession to the EU. He also announced that the European Commission avis will be terminated in March next year, to be followed by the Decision of the Council of Ministers on the Croatian candidacy. Mr. Verheugen pleaded for individual evaluation of Croatian achievements and emphasised the importance of the Croatian progress for South-Eastern countries. He also pointed out that Brussels is sending a messing to Croatia that it will not be necessary to wait for other countries in the region, as the Croatian membership in the EU would send a strong signal to those countries that democratic reforms would be rewarded. Further, he stressed that there are certain conditions that Croatia must fulfil, notably the issue of cooperation with the Hague Tribunal and the process of return of refugees.

Mr. Verheugen informed the Croatian delegation on the final stage of the process of the EU enlargement and the negotiations on the modification of institutional framework within the Intergovernmental conference whose attention is focused on the debate on the new Constitution of the EU.

The Croatian delegation informed Mr. Verheugen about the deepening of economic and commercial relations between Croatia and Serbia, and Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is notably reflected in the ever growing number of investment projects of the Croatian companies in these countries.

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