- Published: 05.06.2009.
Croatian Deputy PM addresses SEECP meeting in Chisinau
ZAGREB, June 5 (Hina) - Addressing a summit meeting of heads of state or government of South East European Co-operation Process (SEECP) in Chisinau, Moldova, Croatia's Deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said on Friday that the European project could not be completed without the further expansion of the European Union.
This year when Europe is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the idea of its reunion, it is a good occasion to reiterate messages about Euro-Atlantic prospects of the Western Balkans from the Thessaloniki Agenda in which the EU stressed that it would not be possible to finish the European project without this part of Europe, according to Kosor's speech in Chisinau.Speaking about Croatia's admission to NATO this April, Kosor said that this was a great success of Croatia's foreign policy and also the proof that Croatia managed to be transformed from a country which was a topic of international affairs into a full NATO member-state determined to contribute to the global security.
However, some countries are now stagnating due to unresolved bilateral issues with their neighbours or due to breaches of certain existing agreements, she said referring to Slovenia's blockade of Croatia's European Union accession negotiations over the two neighbours' border dispute.
Kosor warned that the Slovenian blockade could produce negative consequences for the entire region, underlining that bilateral problems should not affect a candidate's progress towards EU membership just as the multilateral framework of the accession negotiations should not be used for the resolution of bilateral issues.