SETimes.comDiplomatic Diary: Croatia, Serbia open border checkpoint
25/07/2006
Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica opened a border checkpoint on Friday. Also in diplomacy: EC President Jose Manuel Barroso meets with Serbian President Boris Tadic, and the Stability Pact's Erhard Busek visits BiH.
Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader was in Belgrade on Friday (21 July) for meetings with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and Serbian President Boris Tadic. He said bilateral co-operation has increased significantly over the past year, and expressed confidence that Serbia's action plan for co-operation with the UN war crimes tribunal would bring results. Sanader and Kostunica also opened the modernised border checkpoint at Batrovci-Bajakovo, which was co-financed by the EU
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Croatian Interior Minister Ivica Racan and his Slovenian counterpart, Dragutin Mate, met in Rovinj on Tuesday (18 July), to discuss bilateral co-operation in relation to the summer tourist season. Talks reportedly focused on concrete activities at mutual borders, as well as boosting security in resorts in the two countries.
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European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Serbian President Boris Tadic met on Tuesday (18 July) in Brussels. Barroso said that a Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Serbia and the EU could be sealed by the end of the year if Belgrade implements its action plan with satisfactory results.
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Special Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe Erhard Busek met with Principal Deputy High Representative Larry Butler and BiH Prime Minister Adnan Terzic in Sarajevo on Wednesday (19 July).
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Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku arrived on Wednesday (19 July) on an official two-day visit to Slovenia. He met with counterpart Janez Jansa, Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, President Janez Drnovsek and Parliament Speaker France Cukjati on Thursday.
(Various sources – 18/07/06-25/07/06)