Minister Jandroković attended session of EU Intergovernmental Conference on Croatia’s accession

At the press conference, Minister Jandroković thanked the French presidency for the continuous support for Croatia’s accession process during its six-month chairmanship. He also thanked the European Commission and Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, expressing satisfaction that Croatia’s efforts were recognized in its latest Report as well. Unfortunately, these efforts, said Jandroković, cannot be seen in the results of today’s Intergovernmental Conference, given Slovenia’s blockade and hindering the opening of eight and closing of two chapters.

In that regard, he pointed out that Croatia has never brought bilateral issues into the negotiation process and has always negotiated in good faith. Minister Jandroković said that Croatia was willing to offer strong guarantees that the negotiation documents do not prejudge the border, but the Slovenian side has obviously requested more, which Croatia found unacceptable. He thanked the French presidency once again for its initiative and effort to find a mutually acceptable solution.

Minister Jandroković said that Croatia, regardless of the present situation, will continue to implement the necessary reforms in justice and public administration, the fight against corruption and organized crime, and economy, including the restructure of the shipbuilding industry. He pointed out that 2009 remains a crucial year in which Croatia will complete the negotiation process.

At the Intergovernmental Conference, Croatia opened one chapter (Chapter 5 – Public Procurement) and temporarily closed three (Chapter 7 - Intellectual Property Law, Chapter 10 - Information Society and Media, and Chapter 17 - Economic and Monetary Policy). The Republic of Croatia currently has 20 open and 7 temporarily closed chapters.