EU and Croatia conclude accession negotiations

EU delegation leader János Martonyi, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Štefan Füle and Foreign Affairs Minister Gordan Jandrokovič, have officially concluded the chapters on judiciary and fundamental rights, financial and budgetary provisions, competition policy and other issues, which marks the end of the 35 chapters accession negotiations. In the press conference, Mr Martonyi highlighted that these chapters were very complex, and their conclusion meant that Croatia had managed to deliver a wide range of performance benchmarks.

The conclusion of the negotiations is a milestone for Croatia. The Hungarian foreign minister emphasised that Croatia's accession will also give a new momentum to the entire process of enlargement, providing a European perspective for the Western Balkans.

Over the past months, Croatia has doubled its efforts. This hard work and commitment provides a model to follow for countries that are aspiring for an EU membership.

During the last few days the Hungarian Presidency had been doing its utmost to close accession talks with Croatia. Since 24 June, the EU’s heads of state and government have assured Croatia of their political support; and the Hungarian Presidency have also invited the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER), to meetings every day, in order to ensure that an agreement would be reached before the ministerial conference on the four remaining negotiating chapters.

According to the Presidency, the last stage of the accession negotiations with Croatia clearly demonstrates that the EU’s institutions can cooperate efficiently and complete each other. During the press conference, János Martonyi expressed his special thanks to the Commission, and personally to President José Manuel Barroso and Commissioner Mr Füle, for their commitment and hard work, otherwise the Presidency would not have been able to accomplish this success, despite the high-level performance of Croatia.

Foreign Affairs Minister of Croatia said, in the press conference, that in the beginning of the year, it had seemed far from certain that the accession negotiations would be concluded during the Hungarian Presidency’s term; but the Croatian negotiators were still confident that it could be accomplished.

Mr Jandrokovič highlighted that the negotiations could not have been concluded without the efficient and honest support of the Hungarian Presidency. He thanked Hungary as well as Commissioner Mr Füle and his staff, for their assistance, on behalf of every citizen of Croatia.

Mr Jandrokovič stressed that the reforms launched during the accession process are irreversible. The Croatian foreign minister’s opinion was that the success of the country, demonstrates the credibility of the EU’s enlargement policy. Mr Jandrokovič encouraged the countries of the Western Balkans to follow the example of Croatia, and stated that as an EU Member State, Croatia will be the strongest supporter of neighbouring countries intending to join.

Monitoring until the date of accession

Zagreb had made several commitments, and the Commission and Member States wish to monitor their implementation until the actual date of accession. The European Commission is responsible for monitoring it, and every six months it will publish the evaluation reports on the results.

Concerning the chapter on competition policy, Croatia must continue on the structural reforms committed in ship manufacturing and steel industry. They must continue to verify by specific results that the implementation of the judiciary reform and the fight against corruption are progressing efficiently; and that they conduct the proceedings on war crimes without bias. Monitoring will extend to issues including external border control, law enforcement cooperation, and the fight against organised crime.

The Accession Treaty will be signed by the end of 2011, during the Polish Presidency, and Croatia will join the EU on 1 July 2013. Member States and Croatia will have to ratify the Accession Treaty by this date.

Keeping Balkans on the European track

Concluding the EU–Croatian accession negotiations by 30 June has been the most important priority of the Hungarian Presidency. At the end of May, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called the breaking of the negotiations a mistake. The Prime Minister then said that delaying Croatia’s accession could have serious consequences. “If no result is achieved, which could keep Balkan countries on the European track, then we will be risking the region’s stability. If we cannot offer a real perspective, then we will lose face,” Mr Orbán said in May.

Earlier, the Hungarian head of government said that Croatia may be the model used for the entire Western Balkan region. The country’s accession may prove that the European perspective is realistic for the Western Balkans. The region can be stabilised, and by none other than the EU, the Hungarian head of government pointed out, in the joint meeting, which were participated by MEPs and representatives of national parliaments of EU Member States and Western Balkan countries, on 14 April.

The magical effect of Croatia’s accession

In the middle of June, towards the end of the accession talks, the Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs stated that the accession of Croatia would have a “magical” effect on the rest of the countries of the Western Balkans.  He said that the achievements of Croatia have also re-energised the efforts of other countries. “If you only think of Serbia, it is quite clear that they have also make a push forward. This is the magic of the process. They take the message, and take the energy and then react,” Martonyi said.