Strasbourg, 18/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - In opening the plenary session in Strasbourg on Tuesday 17 April, European Parliament (EP) President Martin Schulz said he was “absolutely delighted” to welcome 12 Croatian observers. Applause from MEPs rang long to reinforce his words of welcome. Twelve Croatian MPs entered the Parliament for the first time to take part in group and EP committee meetings, preparing them to represent their citizens when Croatia becomes a fully-fledged member of the EU on 1 July 2013, Schulz said. They were, the president said, in the van of Croatian accession to the EU. “Despite the economic crisis that we speak about every day, the EU continues to attract many people and is still pulling together”, as the accession of Croatia proves. The presence of the 12 Croatian observers should not be seen as a burden, but as an opportunity, he stated.
The observers will mainly join the ranks of the Socialists. They are Ingrid Anticevic Marinovic (S&D), Biljana Borzan (S&D), Davor Bozinovic (EPP), Boro Grubisic, Romana Jerkovic (S&D), Frano Matusic (EPP), Tonino Picula (S&D), Andrej Plenkovic (EPP), Milorad Pupovac, Jozo Rados (ALDE), Tanja Vrbat (S&D), Nikola Vuljanic. (MD/transl.rt)