Croatia believes Serbia should be given a date for the start of its EU entry negotiations given that high criteria in reforms and a positive political message were most useful for the stabilisation and a European future of the region, Croatian First Deputy Prime Minister and European and Foreign Affairs Minister Vesna Pusic said in Zagreb on Monday after talks with Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkic.
This is Mrkic's first visit to Croatia.
"Croatia supports the position that Serbia should receive a date for the start of negotiations (with the EU), as we believe that high criteria in reforms but also a positive political message were most useful for stabilisation and a European future of the region. Without a positive political message the countries in the region are not motivated to persist on that path," Pusic told the press.
She added that entering the bloc on 1 July was an important step for Croatia, adding however that Croatia's EU membership was also important for Serbia and all other neighbouring countries.
Mrkic congratulated Croatia on its coming EU membership. "We are truly looking forward to that and we are confident that Croatia will be a worthy representative of the Balkans in the European family," Mrkic said.
"Croatia's EU membership is paving the way to us all and is in a way setting an example, but above all we are happy that Croatia has made it to this point and that it is showing us that one day we will reach this phase too," Mrskic said expressing hope Serbia would be given the date for the start of its EU entry talks in the middle of this year.
Commenting on Croatia's and Serbia's mutual genocide lawsuits, Pusic recalled that both sides expressed readiness to put this issue on the agenda, she, however, said that things have their order and that this topic can be discussed after previous issues, such as the missing persons issue and the processing of war crimes, are resolved.
Commenting on last week's ICTY ruling for Momcilo Perisic, Pusic said ICTY's decisions must be respected even in cases when the verdict is not as we had expected.
"As for the Hague tribunal verdict, you know that it is irrelevant what anyone thinks about it, but I can say I am happy that Perisic is acquitted," Mrkic said.
Asked about a meeting of the two countries' president, Mrkic said the meeting would most definitely take place, adding that all meetings between the two countries' officials so far had been part of preparations for the meeting between Croatian President Ivo Josipovic and Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic.
Mrkic also hailed the Croatian government's decision to introduce signs in the Cyrillic script in the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar.
Pusic and Mrkic agreed to meet on a regular basis, every six months.
