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Croatia can count on our concrete support for EU membership
08.07.2008, 13:35
In talks with Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader on 8 July, Committee of the Regions (CoR) President Luc Van den Brande
pledged concrete backing for Croatia's future membership of the EU and
urged the country to continue with the "excellent progress" it has made
since opening its accession negotiations.
The President said he hoped Croatia would stay on track with the reforms linked to its membership bid and would not be discouraged by Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty: "Accession will happen. This is the common will of the EU. The question is not if, but when Croatia joins the Union. I am confident that the French Presidency of the EU will find appropriate solutions to ensure that entry takes place sooner rather than later. You can count on the concrete support of the Committee of the Regions," he told the Premier.
The CoR, the political assembly which represents the voice of local and regional authorities in the EU's multi-level decision-making process, would also continue to work in partnership with its Croatian counterparts to help them prepare for membership, said President Van den Brande. He invited them to participate in a new Euromed forum for local and regional authorities, which is being spearheaded by the CoR as part of the re-launched Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean.
He also urged Croatia's local and regional authorities to play an active role in the CoR's three most important networks: the Lisbon Monitoring Platform, which promotes stronger local and regional input in the EU Lisbon Strategy for jobs and growth; the Subsidiarity Monitoring Network, a legislative watchdog aimed at ensuring the EU delivers added value and does not intervene on issues best left to national or regional decision-makers; and the new European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation, a legal instrument which makes it easier for EU and non-EU members and regions to deliver joint cross-border, transnational or interregional projects.
"I also told Prime Minister Sanader that the Committee of the Regions backs Croatia's moves towards more decentralisation of power to regions and cities," said President Van den Brande. "We do not advocate a particular model of decentralisation and have no wish to interfere with Croatia's organisation of its internal structures, but it is clear that countries which are organised in a decentralised way perform better in the implementation of economic, social, immigration and environmental policies, because they are on the frontline of these challenges." The President emphasised that decentralisation of political responsibility should be matched with adequate financial and human resources.
President Van den Brande's kicked off his official visit to Croatia on 7 July with a speech at the 4th meeting of the Committee of the Regions' Working Group on relations with Croatia, organised in collaboration with the Association of Cities in the Republic of Croatia and Croatian County Association. More than 40 high-level representatives took part, including Slobodan Uzelac, Vice-Prime Minister for Regional Development, Reconstruction and Return, Željko Kuprešak, State Secretary for European Integration, François Saint-Paul, French Ambassador to Croatia and Representative of the EU Presidency, Neven Pelicarić, Assistant Minister and Director-General for Europe and the EU, and Ambassador Vincent Degert, head of the European Commission delegation to Croatia. Dubravka Suica, Mayor of Dubrovnik and Vice President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, was among 19 Croatian local and regional political leaders involved.
The CoR President later had talks with Foreign Minister Gordan Jandroković, who underlined Croatia's determination to open the remaining 13 of the 33 ‘chapters' in its EU membership negotiations by the end of this year. Each thematic chapter pertains to a specific aspect of the EU rule-book, known as the acquis, and EU applicants must demonstrate a track record of compliance (or stipulate a credible timeframe for compliance) as part of the membership process. "We don't want to be held hostage (in the accession talks). We will speed up our reforms in the coming months," Mr Jandroković pledged.
As well as his meeting with the Prime Minister today, Mr Van den Brande also held talks with Petar Čobanković, Minister for Regional Development, Forestry, and Water Management, and with Mario Zubović, President of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, and Zvonimir Mršić, President of the Local and Regional Self-government Committee.
Source: www.cor.eu