Croatia one step closer to EU entry

22/12/2009

Croatia is in "the final and determining phase" of its membership talks with the EU, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said after a meeting Monday.

(Reuters, DPA, AFP, European Voice, Europolitics, EU - 21/12/09; Croatian Times - 18/12/09)

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. [Getty Images]

Croatia moved a step closer to EU entry on Monday (December 21st) after closing two more chapters in its membership negotiations with the Union.

The provisional closure of talks on the policy areas, or chapters, on the right of establishment and freedom to provide services and on social policy and employment was officially confirmed during a ministerial-level intergovernmental accession conference in Brussels.

At the start of negotiations on the services' chapter more than two years ago, Croatia was told that it had to take a number of measures.

The measures Croatia was asked to take to complete talks on the social policy and employment chapter included harmonising its labour law and legislation dealing with health and safety at work with the acquis. The country also had to bring its legislation in the fields of anti-discrimination and equal opportunities in compliance with EU law.

According to an EU statement, on the basis of information provided by Croatia and the considerable progress made with preparations in all relevant areas, the Union saw no need for further negotiations on those two chapters.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country will hand over the rotating six-month EU presidency to Spain on January 1st, headed the delegation representing the 27-nation bloc at the talks with the Croatian team, led by Foreign Minister Gordan Jandrokovic.

Zagreb hopes to complete negotiations on all 35 policy areas during the Spanish EU presidency, ending on June 30th next year and then join the bloc as its 28th member by 2012. The country has so far opened talks on 28 of the chapters. The number of provisionally closed chapters reached 17 on Monday.

Talks on three other policy areas -- energy, financial services, and consumer and health protection -- were wrapped up during a lower level intergovernmental accession conference last month. Their provisional closure was also formally confirmed during Monday's ministerial meeting.

"Croatia's accession negotiations are in the final and decisive phase," Jandrokovic told a news conference after Monday's talks. "We are confident that we can bring negotiations to a successful end in the middle of 2010."

Croatia's entry talks with Brussels remained frozen in a number of policy areas for months over its border dispute with neighbouring Slovenia. The deal the two countries reached on the issue in early November unblocked the accession process. But on Monday, Slovenia did not approve the opening of three new chapters -- fisheries, environment and foreign and security policy -- in Zagreb's talks.

Bildt said Slovenia had not clarified its reservations, but voiced hope that the problem would be resolved "fairly soon". He also reassured Croatia that the accession process is on track.

"We are in the final and determining phase of negotiations," Bildt said.