The head of the European Union Delegation to Croatia, Paul Vandoren, said on Wednesday that by passing a law to invalidate legal acts of the former Yugoslavia and the former Yugoslav army, Croatia would complicate relations with Serbia, announcing that his office would watch what was being said and done in the election campaign in Croatia.
If parliament adopts the bill moved by the government, it will complicate cooperation with Serbia. Instead, we would rather that Croatia resumed negotiations with Serbia, Vandoren told a press conference in Zagreb when asked if said bill could adversely affect the ratification of Croatia's accession treaty with the EU.
He said all EU countries had to ratify the treaty, which is expected to be signed in December, adding that he saw no reason why they would not do so.
Responding to a question from the press, Vandoren said his office would watch if European values were being respected in the campaign for Croatia's parliamentary election in December.
It is important that countries such as Croatia, which will soon join the EU, respect EU values. We will watch what is being said and done in the campaign, he said.
After watching with the press a live presentation of Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele's progress report on Croatia in Brussels, Vandoren said the report could not have been other than positive.
However, the areas in which we expect further progress are judicial reform, the clampdown on corruption, and the protection of human rights, he said, adding that it was important to keep the reform momentum as Croatia, by completing the entry talks and signing the accession treaty soon, was a positive signal for the other countries in the region.
