Croatia will do its share of the job and enter the European Union proudly and with its head up, Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said at the opening of a two-day conference of the European People's Party (EPP) in Zagreb on Thursday.
"We will truly do our job and enter the European Union proudly and with our heads up, owing to the knowledge of thousands of Croatians and our determination to return home. We see that as returning home, to our European, civilisation circle," Kosor said at the opening of the conference entitled "Croatia: a new model for enlargement".
Thanking the EPP as "a power which the entire time supported the project of Croatia's admission to the EU", Kosor expressed confidence Croatia would close the seven remaining negotiating chapters with the EU by the end of June, including the chapters on the judiciary and competition.
"We are now at a deciding moment. The European Commission's interim report indicates that it is possible to wrap up the negotiations in June," Kosor told members of the EPP Group Bureau, stressing that she expected their support in the coming months.
Kosor stressed the EPP support will be especially important in the context of consent among EU member states for the signing of Croatia's EU Accession Treaty.
Kosor also recalled the long path of Croatia's EU accession and the fact that Croatia is the first country to undergo negotiations under stricter criteria.
She also said Croatia would continue to fight corruption and crime, solve the issue of refugees and cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
The Croatian PM also commented on the situation in the region, saying that Croatia would help all those who see themselves in the EU, adding that bilateral issues with neighbours which are not part of the EU acquis communautaire, would not stand in the way to their EU accession.
EPP president Joseph Daul, expressed conviction Croatia would soon meet all the necessary criteria for closing the EU talks.
You have only several yards ahead before crossing the finish line, Daul said.
The EPP Group Bureau is meeting in Zagreb on 3-4 March 2011 for a conference entitled "Croatia: a new model for enlargement".
Croatia's EU membership negotiations will be a major focus of the meeting.
The centre-right Group of the European People's Party (EPP Group) is the biggest political group of the European Parliament with 265 deputies.
