Eleventh meeting of the Accession Conference at Ministerial level with Croatia

The eleventh meeting of the Intergovernmental Conference with Croatia at Ministerial level was held today in Brussels, following the start of the negotiations on 3 October 2005. The European Union delegation was headed by Steven Vanackere, Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Institutional Reforms. The Croatian delegation was led by Gordan Jandroković, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.

The Conference, which is the fruit of extensive work over several months, dealt in total with eight chapters and represented a significant milestone in Croatia's accession process with the provisional closure of three significant chapters:

Chapter 24 - Justice, Freedom and Security;

Chapter 27 - Environment and

Chapter 31 - Foreign, Security and Defence Policy.

In addition, the Conference confirmed at Ministerial level the provisional closure of

Chapter 4 - Free Movement of Capital;

Chapter 12 - Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Policy;

Chapter 14 - Transport Policy; Chapter 32 - Financial Control and

Chapter 34 – Institutions.

On all these chapters the EU underlined that it would devote particular attention to monitoring all specific issues mentioned in its common positions with a view to ensuring Croatia's administrative capacity and its capacity to ensure proper implementation and enforcement of the relevant acquis. The EU will, if necessary, return to these chapters at an appropriate moment.

News source: EU Press Room link: article

Prospects for South Eastern Europe: Germany, Austria and the US in Dialogue with the Region's Leaders

Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Gordan Jandroković participated 10 December 2010 in the Berlin conference entitled “Prospects for South Eastern Europe: Germany, Austria and the US in Dialogue with the Region's Leaders”. In his speech, Minister Jandroković pointed out the importance of this gathering as an opportunity to spread dialogue and strengthen the Euro-Atlantic perspective for all the countries in the region. He remarked on the conference being held during the 10th anniversary of the Zagreb Summit, which had defined the framework for the South East European countries’ approaching the EU and ushered a new phase of their engagement in joining NATO and other initiatives.

Minister Jandroković said that, from the perspective of the Zagreb Summit, the achievements during the last decade were significant. Apart from the two cycles of NATO enlargement, which saw Croatia and Albania acceding to membership, two enlargement cycles were experienced by the EU as well. Good-neighbourly relations and regional cooperation in South Eastern Europe are growing stronger by the year, as confirmed by the expansion of economic cooperation within CEFTA and cooperation within the institutionalized Regional Cooperation Council.

Reviewing the progress so far on the road to the EU membership, Minister Jandroković said that Croatia had entered the final phase of the process. He pointed out the resoluteness to successfully complete it during Hungary’s EU presidency in the first half of the following year, and then sing the Accession Treaty as soon as possible.

Stating that Croatia would continue to support the region’s countries along their way to Euro-Atlantic integration and offer them technical assistance, the minister remarked on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, saying that all of the three constitutive nations should participate in the constitutional reforms processes on equal basis. The conference is being organized by the Aspen Institute Germany, with financial support from the German Marshall Fund and the German Foreign Office, and represents the third thematic summit on the issue integrating South Eastern Europe in the Euro-Atlantic integration. It was jointly opened by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger, and is seeing participation by foreign ministers and other high-ranking officials from South East European countries, Germany, Austria, and the US.

News source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration link: article