On behalf of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Ambassador Salazar delivered to Minister Jandroković a demarche in the form of a Memorandum, relating to the preparations to open Chapter 23 in the part pertaining to Croatia’s cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. In general, the Memorandum describes the cooperation of the Republic of Croatia good, but it underlines the importance of continuing all the activities related to full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal. Also, the importance of continued comprehensive and reliable investigation concerning the disappearance of the requested military documents is emphasised.
In this context, referring to the conclusions of the EU Council of October 2005, the Memorandum states that EU Member States and the European Commission will continue to closely monitor further developments in the investigation, including the cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal.
Minister Jandroković informed Ambassador Salazar about the firm commitment of the Government of the Republic of Croatia to full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal, as well as dedication to continue and conclude the investigation regarding the requested military documents as soon as possible. He emphasised that the Croatian Government was fully aware of the importance to fulfil its obligations arising from Chapter 23.
Spanish Ambassador Salazar and Minister Jandroković agreed that the purpose of this Memorandum was to successfully speed up the conclusion of Croatia’s negotiations with the EU.
At the meeting, they discussed other areas related to the process of Croatia’s accession to the European Union. The collocutors agreed that the recent opening of two new chapters (13 – Fisheries, and 27 – Environment), and lifting of the reservations on Chapter 23 by some Member States, was a very welcome step in the direction of the expected successful conclusion of negotiations.
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