[autom.vertaling] Schröder steunt het Kroatische lidmaatschap van de EU vanaf 2007 (en)

Croatian EU membership application received a strong boost from Germany yesterday.

During a visit to the capital, Zagreb, on 30 October, the German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder expressed his "wholehearted support" for Croatia's ambitious bid to become an EU member in 2007.

He said Croatia had already caught up with Romania and Bulgaria - expected to join the EU in 2007 - "and we support that date for Croatia too".

Croatia filed its application for membership in February.

It expects to get itself ready for EU membership in just three years. Romania and Bulgaria, on the other hand, applied in 1995 and started negotiations in 1999.

So far, both countries are expected to join in 2007. However, Bulgaria has only finished 25, and Romania only 19 of the requested 30 chapters - the EU terminology for adjusting to EU-legislation.

Mr Schröder is the first German chancellor to visit Croatia after its independence.

Traditionally Germany has strong relations to the country and is one of the major money providers for the rebuilding of Croatia after the war.

The German Chancellor also insisted that Zagreb is co-operating with the UN's war crimes tribunal - despite international concern at its failure to hand over an indicted former general.

"Croatia is co-operating with the tribunal", he said.

For its part, the EU has on several occasions linked the two issues of Union membership and movement on the war crimes tribunal.

Serbia

The Chancellor also visited Serbia where economic questions as well as EU membership were debated.

Here, he made some supportive comments for EU membership, as well, but they were far more guarded.

Germany would support the Serbian approach towards the EU through an association agreement.