Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusić told the press that the government's task force held its first meeting earlier in the day to discuss the remaining obligations in the run-up to the country's entry into the EU. “The action plan prepared by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs pertains to ten concrete tasks from the European Commission’s report and other taskes that are crucial for our future functioning in the EU. We expect the third and final monitoring report to be prepared by the end of March, based on which it is likely that three ratifications will remain”, Pusić said. She stated they planned to complete all the tasks by late January, early February the following year, adding that measures and time-frames were clearly defined and that the focus was on the finalization, which the prime minister had set as their priority.
Commenting on the elections in the US, Pusić said that Obama’s re-election was a guarantee that the US policy towards Croatia and the region would continue. “We have become a partner to the US in the region and for us that is an important role”, Pusić said. She added that the previous week’s visit by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was a confirmation that Croatia had a role in the region regarding the progress of its countries aspiring to NATO and EU membership. “For us it is exceptionally important that this type of policy of the US towards Croatia continues”, she said.
Asked to comment on the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights regarding Ljubljanska Banka, Pusić said that the ruling was in accordance with Croatia’s opinion. However, in the case of transferred savings, the situation is quite unique. “We are close to reaching a solution to the issue. Croatian and Slovenian financial experts have agreed on a compromise proposal. Once they communicate the proposal to their respective governments, the governments will then decide whether it is acceptable for them or not”, concluded Pusić, adding that said proposal might solve the problem.