Brussels, 23/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - The Spanish Presidency and the European Commission have welcomed the progress made by Croatia on its way to EU accession. With the opening of two chapters at the last accession conference in February, 30 of the 35 chapters have now been opened, and 17 have been provisionally closed. The five remaining chapters are expected to be opened under Spanish Presidency, the aim being to complete accession talks by the end of the year. “I am confident ands I think that we will be able to open them all under our Presidency,” said Ángel Lossada, Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, after the stabilisation and association council between the EU and Croatia in Brussels on Tuesday 23 March. Croatia has now entered the home straight in negotiations, Štefan Füle said, but “the last 100 metres are sometimes the most difficult”. The enlargement commissioner set out the areas where further effort is necessary: reform of public administration and the judicial system, tackling corruption and organised crime, protection of minorities, including the return of refugees, war crimes proceedings and economic reform. “Determination will be needed to tackle all these issues.”
The three men also welcomed the judgment delivered that same day by the Slovenian constitutional court, which ruled that the agreement in September of last year between Slovenia and Croatia to end their border dispute complied with the Slovenian constitution. “This is good news which paves the way for ratification of the agreement by the Slovenian parliament,” said Croatian Foreign Minister Goirdan Jandrokoviæ, who chaired the meeting on Tuesday. He added, “We are very close to resolving a difficult problem, in full compliance with European standards”. (A.B./transl.rt)