First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić 22 in Luxembourg April attended the meeting of the General Affairs Council, which adopted the conclusions on Croatia, stating among other things that “the Council commends Croatia for the results achieved, noting that it has completed the ten priority actions identified in the Commission’s comprehensive monitoring report of October 2012. Croatia has shown the will and ability to fulfil all other commitments before accession. The Council notes that Croatia's forthcoming accession is the result of a rigorous 10-year negotiation process.”
“We have always been the topic of big discussion. Today we came in as one of the previous items that are no longer on the agenda,” Pusić said, commenting the Council’s conclusions.
The Council also discussed the agreement between Serbia and Kosovo. “The agreement was universally commended by all of the member states and is an important step forward for the region. All of us see the agreement as a brave and positive step,” Pusić said, adding that for Serbia the agreement meant getting the date for the launch of the EU negotiations, while for Kosovo it meant the start of negotiations on the Stability and Association Agreement.
In regard to the ratification of Croatia’s accession treaty, Pusić said Croatia had fulfilled all of the commitments and that the process could be over as early as May. “We already have 25 ratifications. There are certain indications that the German and Danish parliaments could decide to complete the process earlier. I am certainly hopeful that they will do so.”
Asked about Ljubljanska Banka, the minister said: “The memorandum does not mention removing any authorisations, but speaks of putting court proceedings on hold, and in that regard we have finished our job. We have given instructions to the banks, which have in turn instructed their attorneys that all proceedings before Croatian courts against Ljubljanska Banka should be put on hold, and Slovenia should do the same.”
The Council also discussed an initiative by EU Commissioner for Justice, Citizenship and Fundamental Rights Viviane Reding titled “EU Justice Scoreboard”. Pusić said the initiative stemmed from the assumption that judiciary, regardless of the country, was always in danger of functioning progressively less efficiently unless it was emphasized. In order to avoid that, judiciary and fundamental rights would get a sort of automatic control by all of the EU member states. “I think this is a good idea as it is non-discriminatory and covers all EU members. Croatia is a good example since it was the first aspirant to be under scrutiny according to the Judiciary and Fundamental Rights negotiating chapter. We certainly do not have a fantastic judiciary today, but we have used the negotiations to lay the foundations for the judiciary that can be further stabilised and developed,” Pusic concluded.