After the river border crossing on the Danube between Vukovar and Bac Municipality in Serbia was closed down due to Croatia joining the European Union (EU) on July 1 and transport on a ferry financed by the Netherlands have come to a halt, talks are expected to begin in September between Croatia and Serbia concerning a new agreement on cross-border traffic, the Vukovar mayor's office reported on Tuesday.
A statement released by the office notes that pursuant to a letter from the foreign ministry sent to Mayor Zeljko Sabo, negotiations with the Serbian side are scheduled for September this year in an effort to come to a new agreement on cross-border cooperation which should facilitate crossing the border for citizens in border regions in the two countries.
The foreign ministry further advised that in January it had sent Serbia a diplomatic note advising that after 1 July 2013 when Croatia joins the EU, an agreement on cross-border traffic which had applied temporarily since 1997, would not longer be valid as it was not in line with EU legislation.
On that occasion Croatia once again extended an invitation to Serbia for negotiations to commence on a new agreement based on a text proposed mid 2011 however the Serbian side did not show any interest to start the negotiations and to conclude a new agreement on cross-border traffic that would be in line with EU legislation, the ministry's statement says.
This has led to ferry transport between Vukovar and Bac being halted on a ferry which was provided by The Netherlands and valued at around one million euro.
