Croatia ready to join EU

JAKARTA: Croatia, a small Southeastern European nation, has made all the preparations to join the 25-member European Union (EU), a Croatian scholar said in Jakarta.

"After a brief delay in accession negotiations, the EU Council of Ministers opened the accession negotiations with Croatia on Oct. 4 in Luxembourg," Prof. Andjelko Shimich, an academician as well as a minister at the Croatian Embassy in Jakarta said during a discussion on: Croatia on the Way to the European Union-Or Challenges of Reunion of the one European Family.

The discussion was held last week at the University of Indonesia's Graduate School of European Studies in Depok, West Java.

Ever since its application for EU membership in 2003, Croatia has been taking measures such as the adoption or revision of several new rules and regulations, Andjelko, who is also Croatia's special representative to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said.

"It's a lengthy process. We have to fulfill hundreds of requirements to become an EU member. But we are ready to do that," Andjelko told The Jakarta Post after the discussion.

The 60-year-old diplomat said Croatia was one of EU's important missing links.

"If Croatia joins the EU, it will contribute to the integrity of the Mediterranean, Central and Southeast Europe, thanks to Croatia's geographical location. It shall undoubtedly enjoy positive impacts in terms of her social and economic development. Therefore, there is an interdependence of interests for both parties," he said. -- JP