Achievement and nothing else

This is what we have agreed on with my Dutch and French partners, concerning Croatia’s accession. Although there is plenty to do, everyone agreed that it depends on Croatia’s achievements whether negotiations can be concluded in June, as scheduled by the Hungarian Presidency. There will be no further conditions, nor strings attached. This is important: we only ask for fair assessment. In addition to the Dutch and French government officers, I enjoyed discussing the issue with the Dutch government party’s spokesperson and Serge Brammertz, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. It was stunning to be in the Tribunal building (I had the feeling as if I had come to a pre-war American movie: long, tile-covered corridors).

After the Commission’s 2 March report, which identified a longer to-do list for Croatia than expected earlier, we managed to gain positive messages again, which brings fresh hopes.