Brussels, 19/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - The EPP and S&D Groups at the European Parliament again crossed swords on how to tackle the issue of Croatia, against which, Commissioner Viviane Reding has just activated the safeguard clause in the justice and home affairs domain. While for the EPP and its Schengen expert, Carlos Coehlo (EPP, Portugal), consider that Croatia's failure to apply provisions in the European arrest warrant does constitute a serious shortcoming and is “unacceptable”, the leader of S&D, Hannes Swoboda from Austria, believes that the Commission's decision has made finding a compromise between the two parties more complicated.
Swoboda said that it was both logical and necessary that Croatia complies with the European rules on the European arrest warrant, which was “an essential piece of legislation that must be implemented in member states” but argued that the Commission's decision had been “imprudent”. He said, however, that he was confident that Prime Minister Milanovic and President Barroso would be able to find a solution. He also refused to question Croatia's ability to become a new member of the EU and stated that this was “an isolated problem” and that “any comparison with Hungary, where attacks against democracy continue, is absurd”.
Wilfried Martens, the president of the EPP said in a press release that this decision is “completely legitimate and should not be seen as any surprise”. The decision of the Croatian authorities to amend their legislation three days before the country's official entry into the EU, is not just a violation of the country's obligations but is also a hindrance to the effective functioning of a major instrument of legal cooperation in the EU.
Martens therefore called on “Zoran Milanovic (a member of the PES) to immediately and unconditionally address these changes” and requested that the PES and ALDE put pressure on the Croatian parties in power, the SDP and HNS, which are part of their political families, to do so instead of remaining mute on the question. (SP/transl.fl)