Members of a Croatian parliamentary delegation said on Wednesday they were pleased with a European Parliament debate on Croatia's Accession Treaty with the European Union earlier today.
The EP is to vote on the treaty on Thursday and the document is to be signed on December 9, just ahead of a European Council summit which will be attended by 28 countries for the first time, including Croatia as observer. Croatia is expected to join the EU on 1 July 2013.
The Croatian delegation attending today's debate was headed by Parliament Speaker Luka Bebic.
"We can be proud. It is nice to be a Croat in the European Parliament today," Bebic told reporters afterwards, saying all major parties in the EP had backed Croatia and that about 20 MEPs took part in the debate.
"After nearly 11 years of joint and persistent work, we are entering the big finale. The political consensus in Croatia has helped us adjust more quickly and more easily. For us, it is very important that there is a high degree of consensus on Croatia among all political groups in the European Parliament, as seen in the debate today," said Neven Mimica, who was in the delegation.
Vesna Pusic, who headed a national committee monitoring Croatia's EU entry talks, said she was pleased with the positive debate in the EP.
Without naming anyone, she mentioned "the ridiculous interventions and discussions by some deputies who worry that joining the European Union might harm us, while at the same time they are sitting in the European Parliament."
The only argumentative statement came from British Euroskeptic Nigel Farage, who said the Croats had waited a thousand years for independence and that they would lose it again 20 years later.
A vote to enter the EU is a vote to join a new Yugoslavia, he said, adding that Croatian structures still included old communists and that the press was not free to publish an article against EU accession.
Marija Pejcinovic Buric, who was also in the Croatian delegation, said the debate was very interesting and that some good news for Croatia could be heard, voicing hope that a high number of MEPs would vote for Croatia's accession.
Milorad Pupovac, another member of the delegation, said the debate showed that the bulk of the EP was looking forward to voting for Croatia's EU accession tomorrow, adding that Croatia's accession would open the door to the rest of Southeast Europe.
"There were no objections to Croatia today, other than a warning that we must carry on with reforms," said another delegation member, Zeljka Antunovic.
