PM Sanader delivers talk at La Sapienza University

ROME, March 5 (Hina) - The year 2009 is very important for Croatia because of its aspirations to join NATO and complete negotiations on accession to the European Union, Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said in Rome on Thursday.

"In that way, our dream of about 20 years ago, that Croatia, as an independent state, should become a full member of the democratic Euro-Atlantic associations, will come true," Sanader said in a talk at La Sapienza University.

Speaking of Croatia's progress towards membership of NATO and the EU, Sanader said that Croatia could not agree that its EU membership bid should depend on its unresolved bilateral border issue with Slovenia.

"Those are two separate processes that should not be confused," Sanader said, noting that Slovenia had joined the EU with the same unresolved issue.

"If Slovenia could enter the European Union with the same unresolved issue, I do not see why Croatia could not do the same. After all, the European Union was founded so that borders would no longer be places of conflict, but places of cooperation," he added.

"We do not accept any political drawing of the borders. The border issue should be settled by the logic of law before an international court," Sanader stressed.

Responding to questions from the audience, Sanader once again expressed his conviction that Croatia would become a NATO member on 3 April at the alliance summit jointly hosted by Strasbourg and Kehl.

Before Sanader's speech, the rectors of Zagreb University and La Sapienza, Aleksa Bjelis and Luigi Fratti respectively, signed a cooperation agreement.



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