Minister Pusić talks General Affairs Council conclusions

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić attended a meeting of the General Affairs Council in Brussels, which among other things discussed the enlargement towards the Western Balkans and Turkey

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić attended a meeting of the General Affairs Council in Brussels, which among other things discussed the enlargement towards the Western Balkans and Turkey.

Given the fact that the Western Balkans is surrounded by the EU territory, Pusić said Croatia saw the process more as a consolidation of the EU rather than enlargement as such, which would be the case with Turkey. Croatia is interested in the reform power of those countries’ association process and finding ways to meet the criteria. “In the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), we have launched a process of rearranging the order in which criteria are to be met, enabled BiH to commit in writing to reforms, activate the Stabilization and Association Agreement and, within that package, solve the issue of traditional trade with Croatia,” Pusić said.

Talking about Serbia, Pusić said that it was in Croatia’s our interest that reforms in Serbia progress. “It's for this reason in fact that the conclusions refer to the need to condemn all forms of hate speech and wartime rhetoric, and the need to avoid any source of friction in regional cooperation and the need to address the issues of missing persons, impunity for war crimes, resolve the question of jurisdiction, which is a constituent part of Chapters 23 and 24," Pusić said, adding that Croatia strongly advocated the Western Balkans’ progress towards membership and finding a solution in Macedonia’s case.

Asked about Palestine’s recognition, Pusić said that Croatia would discuss Palestine within the EU and the Foreign Affairs Council. “Some countries have already broached the subject. We expect a large number of countries to agree and reach common decisions,” the minister said. 

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