- Published: 24.05.2013.
Minister Pusić with Irish ministers – Croatia is a success story
First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusić met today in Dublin with Irish Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore and Minister of State for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton
First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusić met today in Dublin with Irish Deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Eamon Gilmore for talks on the completion of ratification of Croatia's accession treaty and preparations for Croatia's entry into the EU. Pusić said Croatia was fully prepared for the membership, adding that only the Upper House of the German parliament was left to ratify the treaty. The two ministers discussed the situation in the region and the situation in individual countries, agreeing that the process of European integration was in fact a stabilisation process.
Pusić held separate talks with Minister of State for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton, with whom she also discussed the situation in the region and the need to retain the positive enlargement momentum.
The Croatian minister thanked the Irish officials for all that Ireland had done for the process of enlargement and Croatia in particular. They discussed economic cooperation, notably in terms of energy, and how to exchange experiences in regard to legislation concerning oil and gas exploration in the sea as well as the possibility of opening a direct Zagreb-Dublin flight.
This is the seventh time Ireland has presided over the EU and has been its member for 40 years. It took Ireland two years and 10 ministerial meetings, and it had eight negotiation chapters.