David Stanton
Question:89 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the efforts being made by Croatia to meet the Copenhagen criteria for accession to the EU; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30017/04]
View answerWednesday, 24 November 2004
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Croatia has made substantial progress in the adoption and implementation of reforms in recent years. It concluded a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU in 2001 and applied for membership in February 2003. At the request of the Council, the Commission presented its opinion on the application in April 2004. It assessed Croatia's performance against the criteria for EU membership which were set out for candidate countries by the Copenhagen European Council in June 1993, and the reforms required under the EU's stabilisation and association process for the countries of the western Balkans. The Copenhagen criteria require a candidate country to achieve stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities, the existence of a functioning market economy, and the ability to take on the obligations of membership. On the basis of a positive assessment of Croatia's progress, the Commission recommended the opening of accession negotiations.
On 18 June the European Council in Brussels agreed that Croatia meets the Copenhagen political criteria. It decided that Croatia is a candidate country for membership and that the accession process should be launched. The European Council decided to convene a bilateral intergovernmental conference with Croatia early in 2005 in order to begin negotiations. The negotiations will be based on Croatia's own merits and the pace of progress will depend solely on the fulfilment of the requirements for membership. The European Council also emphasised that Croatia needs to maintain full co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and to make additional efforts on minority rights, refugee returns, reform of the judiciary, regional co-operation and the fight against corruption.
The Commission presented its annual strategy paper on the enlargement process on 6 October. It sets out suggested principles for a framework for negotiations with Croatia, for consideration by the Council. I hope that the December European Council meeting will be in a position to agree a precise date for the opening of accession negotiations, followed by a decision by the Council on the negotiating framework.