Spaans voorzitterschap wil toetredingsonderhandelingen met Kroatië zoveel mogelijk afronden (en)

Spain will try to progress all the pending areas in the accession talks with Croatia during this six-month period, and to close as many of as possible.

Croatia and the EU held the 6th session of the Stabilisation and Association Council to review the progress made so far in the accession process based on the 2009 situation report drawn up by the European Commission. The Council also discussed bilateral relations in the framework of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and regional issues, with particular emphasis on the evolution of the situation in the Western Balkans.

At the end of the session the Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Ángel Lossada, who chaired the meeting, Croatia's Foreign Affairs Minister, Gordan Jandrokovic, and the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Stefan Füle i, held a press conference.

According to the Spanish Secretary of State, this six month period will be crucial for making progress in negotiations, which have reached the final stage, although, he said a lot of work has yet to be done before they can be brought to a successful conclusion. On a political level, he highlighted the need for improvements to be made in the judiciary, public administration, the fight against corruption, minorities and war crimes.

If talks continue at the same pace as last year, he said, and all the requirements are met, negotiations could be concluded in 2010. “Accession by Croatia will be a positive sign for the whole region, showing that accession is both possible and positive”.

The Croatian minister confirmed his government's determination to meet all the requirements enabling negotiations to conclude this year, and its commitment to fully cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

Commissioner Fule added that the last stage of negotiations is always the most difficult, and that quality is more important than speed, saying: “The EU will ensure that with each new enlargement, it not only grows, but becomes stronger”.

Since the start of accession negotiations, 30 of the 35 "chapters" have been opened and 17 have been provisionally closed. The chapters that still have to be opened are the most difficult, such as the judiciary and fundamental rights, competition, and security and defence policy.

Croatia officially applied to join the EU on 20 February 2003 and the EU opened negotiations on 3 October 2005, after being satisfied that the country was cooperating fully with the ICTY.