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Books on Croatia
REPUBLICAN REFERENCE
Area (sq.km)
56,542
Population
4,496,869
Capital
Zagreb
Currency
Kuna
President
Stipe Mesic
Private sector
% of GDP
55%
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Update No: 103- (28/11/05)
EU negotiations start
Croatia became the first country from the Western Balkans region to launch EU
membership talks on October 3rd. The prime minister at the head of Croatia's
government, Ivo Sanader, believes EU membership negotiations will take some 2 or
3 years and that the country will be able to join the European family in 2007.
Croatia later entered technical negotiations with EU's executive body to compare
the level of national legislation compatibility with that of European bloc.
Croatia has received general approval, from the EU's executive body, on its
political and economic developments, but was urged to step up efforts to improve
some shortcomings. "Croatia is generally doing well in transposing and
implementing EU legislation, but it still needs to make important efforts to
reform the judicial system, to fight corruption, to improve the situation of
minorities and to facilitate refugees' return, as well as to strengthen the
administrative structures for the enforcement of the acquis." Olli Rehn,
the European Commissioner in charge of 25-nation bloc enlargement, told members
of the European Parliament recently in Strasbourg.
Full cooperation with ITCY required
EU member states agreed to open the talks, which were first postponed in March,
following the report of ICTY's Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte at which she
stated that Croatia was fully cooperating with the court. General Gotovina is
charged on alleged crimes against Serbian civilians in 1995 in the Croatian
region of Krajina. EU has warned the membership talks can be suspended at any
moment, if it finds that the Croatian government is decreasing its cooperation
with the court.
The European Commission said that it will monitor Croatian authorities on their
efforts on the whereabouts of the fugitive former general, indicted by the UN
court (ICTY) for war crimes. "Needless to say, Croatia must maintain full
cooperation with ICTY so that the remaining Croatian fugitive is finally brought
to justice; we shall monitor this commitment closely."
US Congress Committee backs NATO entry for Croatia
The US needs all the friends it can get these days. It is hardly surprising that
it is inclined to look benignly on the idea of Croatia joining NATO.
The Committee on International Relations of the US Congress House of
Representatives in early November unanimously adopted a resolution recommending
that Croatia be admitted to NATO as soon as possible in acknowledgement of the
progress the country had made in meeting the membership criteria and
significantly improving its cooperation with the Hague war crimes tribunal.
The resolution was moved by Congressman Elton Gallegly of California, who chairs
the Sub-committee on Europe of the Committee on International Relations. The
resolution was co-sponsored by Congressmen George Radanovich and Peter Visclosky,
who co-chair the Congressional Croatian Caucus.
The document will now be sent to the House of Representatives, which is expected
to discuss it shortly.
The draft resolution praises Croatia for progress in meeting the political,
economic and military criteria for NATO membership and recommends that the
country be invited to join NATO as a full member as soon as possible.
Croatia is described in the resolution as a reliable partner to the United
States and a country contributing to the stabilisation of Southeastern Europe.
Since it gained independence, they asserted Croatia has made significant
progress in the strengthening of democratic institutions and respect for human
rights and the rule of law, it has contributed to the fight against global
terrorism and met the criteria from NATO's Membership Action Plan, as well as
constructively participated in the US-Adriatic Charter, reads the resolution.
Croatia is also commended for having very recently improved its position with
the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague and agreed to take steps to locate the
remaining fugitive indictee, General Ante Gotovina, and transfer him to The
Hague.
The resolution clearly differs from the position of the State Department, which
has said that Croatia's membership of NATO should be made conditional on
Gotovina's arrest and extradition. The US Under-secretary for Political Affairs,
Nicholas Burns, said in October that Croatia would not become a member of NATO
until Gotovina was arrested and transferred to The Hague.
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FOREIGN RELATIONS
Croatia seeks trade ties with India
In a bid to increase its trade with non-EU nations which stands at barely 15
percent, Croatia has put India high on its priority list of countries in Asia
for doing trade, The Hindu reported.
"Croatia was keen on Indian investments in green-field projects,"
Vladmir Vrankovic, State Secretary, Croatian Ministry of Economy, Labour and
Entrepreneurship said in New Delhi while addressing the joint session of the
eighth India-Croatia joint committee organised by FICCI. Listing the priority
areas of the Croatian economy, he said ship-building, processing industry,
tourism, agriculture and developmental projects in the field of road and railway
construction, energy and telecommunications were the major areas where the scope
for the trade existed. Stating that 80 percent of the Croatia's foreign trade
was based on the free trade principle, Vrankovic offered a business-friendly
environment and incentives for FDI. Speaking on the same occasion, N M Kejriwal,
Chairman India-Croatia Joint Business Council, said business possibilities
between the two countries should be explored in the food sector, tourism and
pharmacy.
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