Minister Žužul met today in Helsinki with Finnish Foreign Minister Tuomioja, Parliament's President Lipponen and State Secretary for EU Affairs Peltomäki

Minister Žužul informed Minister Tuomioja about the Croatian government’s preparations for the forthcoming membership negotiations with the EU. Žužul said that the political criteria for accession have been satisfied, that a significant justice reform is pending, and that the co-operation with the ICTY is complete, pointing out the importance of individual assessment of countries’ achievements in approaching the EU. Minister Tuomioja informed Minister Žužul about the significance of the Grand Committee of the Finnish Parliament that consists of the members of all other parliamentary committees and deals with the EU issues. The Finnish foreign minister suggested that the members of the Grand Committee visit Croatia in the interest of co-operation and transfer of experiences. Tuomioja mentioned that in achieving the EU standards there is a strong and well co-ordinated co-operation in Finland between the presiding country, the Parliament and the Government, so that full political harmonisation and control of the activities is achieved. Minister Tuomioja showed interest in Croatia’s neighbourhood and current relations with Slovenia, suggesting a bilateral solution to the open issues, referring to Finland’s experience in such situations.

Minister Žužul familiarised his Finnish colleague with the relations between Croatia and Slovenia, as well as the open issues between the two countries, the biggest of which is the determination of the sea border, pointing out the possibility and importance of international arbitration through which Croatia is seeking the solution to the problem. Žužul described the relations between Croatia and Slovenia as friendly and stated his belief that after the elections, Slovenia will support Croatia’s accession into the EU as before. The Croatian Foreign Minister pointed out that 2005 and 2006 will be extremely important for the whole region, as well as the EU, stating that Croatia will maintain good relations with the neighbouring countries and be a role model for other countries in the region. On behalf of Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, Minister Žužul asked his Finnish colleague to invite the Finnish Prime Minister to visit Croatia, and personally invited Minister Tuomioja to visit Zagreb, which the Finnish Minister accepted.

At the meeting in the building of the Finnish Parliament, Minister Žužul and Parliament’s President Paavo Lipponen talked about the current situation in Croatia on the eve of the membership negotiations with the EU, due to begin early next year. Lipponen commended Croatia for the achieved results that led to the candidate status. The Finnish Parliament, said Lipponen, is willing to share its experiences with the Croatian Parliament regarding the negotiations process with the EU, that it was a part of.

Minister Žužul talked with State Secretary for EU Affairs Antti Peltomäki about the negotiations as a final stage before acceding to the EU, when things move from general political issues to concrete relations between a country and the EU. Peltomäki expressed his pleasure with the progress Croatia has made in approaching the EU and supported the principle of individual assessment of a country’s achievements. Finland’s help to Croatia could be realised bilaterally and within the EU funds, especially in the field of justice and state administration reform. Minister Žužul expressed interest in Finland’s experiences in implementing the so-called “one-stop shop”. State Secretary Peltomäki stressed the importance of preparing for the negotiations on a national level, with the co-ordination of the MFA, with which Finland has a positive experience.

Minister Žužul said that Croatia is capable of completing the negotiations with the EU in two years, using the experience of Finland and other EU members. Žužul expressed his pleasure with the fact that the new EU Enlargement Commissioner, Olli Rehn, comes Finland, and announced his pending meeting with him in Bruxelles. In the end, Žužul invited Peltomäki to visit Croatia, which the State Secretary accepted.

After a well-received lecture at the EU Office in Helsinki before politicians, diplomats, university professors and the press about Croatia’s vision of Europe by the end of this decade, Minister Žužul and Minister Tuomioja held a joint press conference for members of the Finnish press.

Later, the Croatian delegation visited Nokia headquarters in Helsinki and is returning to Croatia on Saturday.