First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić met today with Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkić. “Our job is to work on the issues left over from the past, the present issues and the changes stemming from our entry into the EU i.e. our leaving CEFTA. But geographically, we will stay right here, and relations with our neighbours are extremely important,” Pusić said after the meeting. In that regard, the two ministers agreed on setting up a mixed commission that would deal with outstanding issues between the two countries and would be headed by deputy ministers. Working as part of it would be Croatia’s Missing Persons Commission. Based on the activities plan, the commission should show concrete results by midyear. Pusić and Mrkić agreed to meet on a regular basis, every six months.
The talks also focused on the existent cross-border projects, as well as those yet to be launched and pertaining to educating small and middle-sized entrepreneurs about how to apply for European funds, and projects on cooperation between business zones on both sides of the border. As for the border regime, the two ministers said they expected an agreement on all pertaining issues by 1 July, after Croatia’s EU entry, which they described as an important step for both countries. Pusić and Mrkić also highlighted Croatia’s contribution to the European reforms in Serbia, as part of which Croatian officials visited Belgrade last week. “Every country in the region’s road to the EU is beneficial to that country, as well as to the stability of the region as a whole, and we believe Serbia should be given a date for the start of its EU entry negotiations given that high reform criteria and a positive political message were most useful for stabilization of the region,” Pusić said. Mrkić congratulated Croatia on its EU accession, saying Croatia paved the way and set an example for the region.
Regarding the position of national minorities in Serbia and Croatia, the two ministers underscored the need to standardize the conditions and approach. They also discussed education, i.e. the availability of Croatian workbooks to Croatian pupils in Serbia. Asked about the recent events in Vukovar regarding the introduction of signs in Cyrillic, Mrkić said he welcomed the Croatian government's decision.
Commenting on the two countries’ mutual genocide lawsuits, Pusić recalled that both sides expressed readiness to put this issue on the agenda, but said that this topic would be discussed after previous issues, such as the missing persons issue and the processing of war crimes, were resolved.
Mrkić said that, simply put, the two countries were moving towards a point where they could give up on lawsuits. “We wouldn’t want these lawsuits to create an atmosphere that isn’t conducive to the health of either nation,” Mrkić said. Asked about the meeting between the presidents of the two countries, Mrkić was convinced the meeting would surely take place.
Asked about the upcoming elections to the European Parliament, Pusić said it was a new electoral model by which the citizens do not only get to choose the ticket but concrete persons from it as well, which represents a greater freedom of choice. “This is not a new subject, but we need to make people understand this is not a done deal,” Pusić said, adding that it was extremely important that people went to the polls.