Brussels, 12/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Monday, the new Croatian Prime Minister, Ivo Sanader, met President Prodi in Brussels. An "open" and "positive" first meeting, the two men told the press. Mr Sanader is to meet Chris Patten, Commissioner for External Relations, in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
"We must work together" on Croatia's European integration, said President Prodi. However, "there are still several questions, several problems on the table" he added, referring to co-operation with the International Criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the dispute between Slovenia and Croatia on the Adriatic Sea (see EUROPE of 3 September), minorities' rights and the reform of the legal system. But "this will not slow down our co-operation in the long term", said Mr Prodi. Pre-empting journalists' questions, the President of the Commission concluded, admitting that it was impossible, for the time being, to give Mr Sanader a date for the Commission to return its opinion on Croatia's application for accession to the EU. Highlighting the support of the Croatian population for joining the EU, Mr Sanader said that he was "confident" of his country's European future and in the support of the Commission, speaking with eloquence about the path ahead. There are "many criteria for Croatia to fulfil. We hope that the government will meet its obligations to allow the Commission to return its opinion in the next few months", said Mr Sanader, concluding: "I am confident (...) that we will have the (favourable) opinion of the Commission".
When asked about the border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia on the Adriatic Sea, Mr Prodi replied: "we do not wish to interfere in internal matters (...), but we very much want to see an amicable solution" to the problem. Announcing forthcoming meetings between the Croatian and Slovenian governments, Mr Sanader gave his word that "we will find a way to solve" the dispute.