The meeting was chaired on behalf of the EU by Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi and also saw the presence of Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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| "Source: The Council of the European Union" |
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Gordan Jandroković headed the Croatian delegation at the 7th meeting of the EU-Croatia Stabilisation and Association Council, held 19 April 2011 in Brussels. The meeting was chaired on behalf of the EU by Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi and also saw the presence of Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle. The participants recapped Croatia’s EU accession process since March 2010, when the 6th meting of the Stabilisation and Association Council was held.
Minister Jandroković said that Croatia had made considerable progress since then, continuously fulfilling its obligations assumed through the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, as well as those stemming from the EU accession negotiations. Expressing conviction in attaining the goal of Croatia’s EU membership soon, the minister pointed out that Croatia’s progress was also evident in the 34 opened negotiation chapters, of which 30 had been temporarily closed. He added that Croatia still aimed to close the negotiations by June this year, during the current Hungarian EU presidency.
Regarding the actions Croatia is taking to satisfy the remaining political criteria for membership, Minister Jandroković informed the participants about the judiciary reforms, namely the Croatian government’s efforts to meet the criteria in Chapter 23: Judiciary and Fundamental Rights. Croatia had also achieved significant results in combating corruption, confirming the government’s zero tolerance policy in that regard, said the minister.
He also reported on the cooperation with the ICTY, housing of the former holders of tenancy rights, as well as the protection of the national minority rights and human rights in general. In regard to the state administration reform, the minister emphasized the importance placed on rationalizing the organizational structures and reducing the number of civil servants.
Concerning the economic criteria of harmonization with the acquis, Minister Jandroković said that the Croatian government was intensively continuing the implement the Economic Recovery Program, aimed at increasing economic growth. He added that the recent appointment of the deputy prime minister for investment further proved the government’s dedication to improving the business and investment climate in Croatia.
He pointed out that in the past 12 months Croatia had also made progress in judiciary harmonization and the strengthening of the administrative capabilities in agriculture, environment and regional policy, which yielded the temporary closure of these demanding chapters. He also recalled the closing of Chapter 8: Competition Policy and expressed satisfaction with the cooperation with the European Commission in restructuring the shipbuilding sector in Croatia.
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