The upper chamber of the Italian parliament on Tuesday evening supported by a majority vote a law ratifying Croatia's Treaty of Accession to the European Union, less than two weeks after the lower chamber did the same on February 15. Attending the session of the upper chamber was also Croatian Parliament Speaker Boris Sprem.
Italy has thus joined Slovakia, Bulgaria and Hungary which have already ratified the treaty.
The president of the upper house, the Senate, Renato Schifani, said that they wanted to ratify the treaty as soon as possible because they considered it important and that they felt friendship and brotherly feelings towards Croatia.
"We hope that this will be a signal to other countries, too, to speed up the process of ratification," Schifani said, adding that Croatia would be a stabilising factor in the EU and in its region.
He added that in the current time of economic crisis the European Union should be believed in.
The Senate ratified Croatia's treaty with 216 votes in favour, two against and 22 abstentions.
Croatian Parliament Speaker Sprem said that he was presented with the ratified treaty and that he felt the friendly atmosphere in the Senate. He thanked the Italian parliament for ratifying the document fast, considering the fact that the adoption of decisions in the Italian parliament was a complex process and took long.
He said today's act of ratification was the culmination of the friendship of the Italian people towards the Croatian people.
During his talks with Sprem, Schifani inquired about reforms in Croatia, to which Sprem said that they had started with the coming to power of the new government. He said that budgetary expenses for public administration had been reduced and that a new investment cycle would start this year.
The meeting was also attended by Lamberto Dini, Italy's former PM and Foreign Minister and now chairman of the Senate's Committee on Foreign Affairs. Dini congratulated the Croatian government on the reforms implemented so far and the successful adoption of EU legislation. He said that respect for minority rights was an important factor and that Croatia was successful in that regard as well.
"Some of the senators will underline in the debate the historical outstanding issues between Croatia and Italy, but the settlement of those issue will be facilitated upon Croatia's accession to the EU," said Dini before the Senate session.
The Croatian parliamentary delegation visiting Italy also included the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Milorad Pupovac, the chairman of the Committee on Human and Minority Rights, Furio Radin, and the deputy chair of the Committee on Inter-parliamentary Cooperation, Tanja Vrbat.
