US embassy cable - 03ZAGREB1587

UNCLAS  ZAGREB 001587 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE (NARDI) AND PM (LINO) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, EU, HR 
SUBJECT: PRODI IN CROATIA: ENCOURAGEMENT FOR EU BID AND 
THANKS FOR NOT SIGNING ARTICLE 98 
 
 
1.  On July 10, EC President Romano Prodi visited Croatia to 
present the Commission's membership "questionnaire" to PM 
Racan.  In meetings with President Mesic, PM Racan's Cabinet 
and an address to the Croatian parliament as well as in 
meetings with religious leaders and opposition parties, Prodi 
encouraged Croatia to continue its efforts toward membership. 
 Prodi said Croatia has made "noticeable progress" and that 
the question of EU membership for Croatia is "no longer if, 
but when and how." 
 
2.  Prodi dispelled the persistent public misconception that 
the EU will support Croatia's membership only as part of a 
regional grouping of Balkan countries.  Nevertheless, he made 
a strong appeal for regional cooperation and for Croatia to 
use its front-running position to help other states in the 
region make progress toward the EU.  He made clear that much 
work remains ahead and that no aspect of the public sector 
will be unaffected as the GoC moves along the "arduous but 
exhilarating road to membership." 
 
3.  Prodi hit all the right notes when urging progress toward 
reform: he commended Croatia's progress in some fields, but 
called for further efforts in reform of the judiciary, 
freedom of the media, respect for minority rights and the 
return of refugees.  Prodi told the press and parliament 
(full text of Prodi's address at para 5 below) that some of 
the more than 2500 "questions" in the document he handed to 
the GOC addressed cooperation with ICTY.  He said that full 
compliance is essential, and added that only the UN and the 
ICTY itself can judge Croatia's level of cooperation; the EC 
will base its judgment on whether Croatia is in cooperation 
based solely on their evaluation.  Reactions of all of 
Croatia's leadership were identical: Croatia is committed to 
do whatever it takes to move forward as quickly as possible 
towards membership.  After the opposition's meeting with 
Prodi, even Ivo Sanader, President of the right-wing HDZ, 
said that he was "absolutely" for full cooperation with the 
Hague. 
 
Prodi Thanks Croatia For Saying "No" to Article 98 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
4.  For us, the major sour note was Prodi's very public 
message of thanks to the GoC for refusing to sign an Article 
98 agreement with the U.S.  In his address to parliament, his 
meetings with President Mesic and PM Racan, and in the press, 
Prodi praised Croatia for standing up to pressure.  "I know 
that by not signing one (non-surrender agreement) Croatia 
made a sacrifice and I am grateful for that.  Because of 
that, Croatia will not be forgotten." 
 
Text of Prodi Address to the Croatian Parliament 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
5.  Begin text of EC President Prodi's July 10 address to the 
Croatian parliament: 
 
President, Honorable Members, 
 
On 21 February the Croatian authorities delivered the 
country's application for membership to the Greek Presidency 
in Athens. 
 
I believe there are few acts in a country's history that can 
have such far-reaching implications. 
 
By submitting that application, Croatia has reaffirmed its 
European vocation. And by the same token it has declared that 
the long and trying period of war, division and nationalism 
is well and truly over. 
 
That application demonstrated Croatia's determination to look 
to the future as it sets off along the arduous but 
exhilarating road to membership. 
 
I heard the news in Skopje, which I was visiting at the time, 
and I warmly welcomed the membership application. 
 
I was convinced, and I still am, that it marked a critical 
turning point for Croatia and set a very important example 
for all the other countries in the region. 
 
So I am very happy that I will be shortly handing over to the 
Croatian authorities a comprehensive, wide-ranging document, 
technically termed a "questionnaire." 
 
This questionnaire contains over 2,500 questions on the 
political, economical and administrative situation in the 
country.  The answers will form the basis for the 
Commission's opinion on the starting of accession 
negotiations. 
 
 
Our journey together starts today and in some years' time it 
will take Croatia into the European Union. A Union that is 
enlarging and growing stronger, that will soon have a 
Constitution, the result of intense debate between 
governments, parliaments and the public. 
 
And today I am here to share in the emotion, the expectation 
and anticipation this great journey evokes. 
 
It is a journey of mutual discovery. 
 
In the coming months we will discover more about each other. 
We will learn more about each other's systems and we will see 
how compatible they are. We will adapt our instruments and 
procedures, and this harmonisation process will mean we will 
soon share the same rules. 
 
Our fellow citizens will get to know each other better, to 
understand where we come from -- our different histories, 
cultures and traditions -- and how we have got where we are 
today. 
 
We will learn to live side by side in a Union of diversity 
and minorities, because no Member State of the Union is large 
enough to take decisions alone without coordinating them with 
the others. 
 
This factor has become a distinctive trait of Europe, where 
respect, tolerance and the search for consensus are the rule. 
Where coercion is outlawed. Where dialogue has replaced 
diatribe. Where shared rules, worked out in common and 
decided jointly, are the foundation for life within the Union. 
 
It means bringing legislation and implementation of new rules 
into line with the Union's standards. 
No sector of administrative life will remain unaffected by 
this process of adaptation to EU rules. 
 
And yet all the countries that have gone through this 
strenuous and at times painful process have come out 
stronger, with a hugely enhanced capacity to meet the 
challenges of international life. 
 
This is true of all countries in the Union, from the founding 
members to those that are still to become full members. It 
involves a process of continual growth and constant 
adaptation. 
 
The whole country must help in this complex and delicate 
process. 
 
All society, all Croatians -- both men and women -- need to 
speak out loud and clear in favour of membership. The 
institutions must rise to the challenge and give guidance, 
with all the enthusiasm, patience and determination they can 
muster. 
 
Parliament, and you, Honourable Members, have a special 
responsibility, since it is your task to legislate and 
support the reform process politically. 
 
This is my earnest hope and appeal to you. 
 
Keep your eyes fixed firmly on your country's interest and 
its aspiration to join the great European family of nations. 
 
That was what you did in December last year when you voted 
unanimously in favour of a resolution supporting Croatia's 
application to join the European Union. 
 
That spirit of unity is a great strength, particularly given 
the range of opinions that is typical of a democratic society. 
 
That spirit of unity, based on a shared European ambition, 
will be vital in tackling the problems and issues that have 
to be resolved to complete the membership process. 
 
The country's political, economic, legal and administrative 
transition was a huge challenge for Croatia. 
 
You met that challenge successfully on several counts, but 
further effort is needed in areas such as the reform of the 
judicial system, freedom of the media, respect for minority 
rights and the return of the refugees. It calls for a major 
effort on the sensitive issue of cooperation with the 
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. 
 
Your country has already shown it can make tough choices in 
the name of the European idea. I am thinking of the 
International Criminal Court, where Croatia has decided to 
align itself on the Union's Common Position and back the 
authority of an institution that will act as a safeguard for 
 
 
all members of the international community. 
 
This is the basis for building a future together in Europe: 
it means sharing the same vision and creating the tools to 
build it. 
 
President, Honourable Members, 
 
Only a few days ago we met in Thessaloniki for a summit that 
marked a crucial turning point for the region. 
 
On that occasion the members of the European Council solemnly 
declared that the Balkan countries' future is in the European 
Union. At the same time they stressed the Union's firm 
support for the integration of the Balkans into the Union. 
 
Before this House, I want to repeat my full and firm support 
for integrating the Balkans into the European Union. 
 
And I will never tire of repeating that Europe's unification 
can never be regarded as complete until all the countries in 
the region are full members of the Union. 
 
The political agenda agreed at Thessaloniki is a joint 
commitment and it charts the course we intend following 
together. 
 
We have bolstered the Stabilisation and Association Process 
by including the salient aspects of the enlargement strategy. 
 
We have stepped up political dialogue. 
 
We have put the stress on the problems of growth and economic 
development, because we are convinced that growth and 
employment are the most effective ways of combating poverty 
and social exclusion, the breeding ground for crime and 
illegal trafficking. 
 
The Union is ready to do its part and the Commission is keen 
to get on with the work before it. 
 
But this is a two-way street. 
 
You need to show the same enthusiasm and determination. 
Indeed, the pace and tempo of integration will be set by you. 
 
The Union's rules are clear: respect for the Copenhagen 
political criteria, a functioning market economy and the 
capacity to adapt to the rules and regulations of EU law. 
 
The Union asks for no more. But it will accept no less. 
 
For my part, I am certain Croatia can rise to the challenge. 
 
Your country also has a special responsibility, because at 
present Croatia is in the forefront. It is for you to "set a 
good example" and show that the goal can be reached if the 
political will is there and you are ready to follow in the 
footsteps of Europe's founding fathers. 
 
President, Honourable Members, 
 
I want to stress how important it is never to lose sight of 
the regional reference framework. 
 
The whole - I repeat, the whole - of the Balkans must come 
into the European Union. 
 
No wall, no barrier must divide the Balkans. That would be 
unthinkable. We know only too well how much suffering such 
divides have caused. 
 
There is no nostalgia for the past in what I am saying. 
 
Just the profound conviction that it is time to build bridges 
in the Balkans, not destroy them. To open borders, not to 
close them. To restore relations and trade links, not to 
sever them. 
 
It is no coincidence that regional and subregional 
initiatives are thriving in the region. Like the Stability 
Pact, the South-East Europe Cooperation Process, the Central 
European Initiative and the Adriatic-lonian Initiative. And 
agreements too, such as the Memorandum of Understanding on 
the Regional Electricity Market in South-East Europe and the 
Framework Agreement on the Sava River Basin. And the network, 
now complete, of bilateral free-trade agreements between all 
the countries in the region. 
 
Development, stability and security call for a regional 
approach. No country can regard itself as free from the risk 
of instability if the others are not free from that risk too. 
 
Naturally, this does not mean that Croatia will have to wait 
until every other country is ready to join before it becomes 
a member. 
The principle of differentiation will continue to apply and 
each country will be judged on its own merits and capacities. 
 
But the process of enlargement for the Balkan countries is 
one and indivisible. And ultimately the region as a whole 
must be fully integrated into the Union. 
 
President, Honourable Members, 
 
Let me close by reminding you of a date: 24 November 2000. 
 
That day, here in Zagreb I attended a Summit that launched 
the process of integrating the Balkan countries into Europe. 
 
That Summit also marked the start of talks between the 
European Union and Croatia on our Stabilisation and 
Association Agreement. 
 
At the time I was full of hope that Croatia would make fast 
progress towards European integration. 
 
Today I am sure your country has really started on the 
journey that will take it into the European Union as a full 
member. 
 
To je vasa i nasa zajedicka buducnost. 
 
Hvala lijepo. 
 
End text. 
FRANK 
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