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29th Mar 2024

US says Croatia should join EU 'sooner instead of later'

The US has reiterated its support for Croatia's speedy accession to the European Union. But alleged non-compliance with The Hague war crimes tribunal could harm the country's ambitions.

"We hope that they will be on the road to EU membership sooner instead of later. Obviously, we don't have a vote in the EU, but we have made it clear to a number of our counterparts how valuable we think it will be when Croatia is a member," US secretary of state, Hilary Clinton, said after meeting Croatian foreign minister, Gordan Jandrokovic, in Washington on Thursday (10 December).

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  • Ms Clinton (c) offered to help Croatia find the missing documents on suspected war crimes (Photo: state.gov)

Croatia aims to complete accession talks by mid-2010. It recently resolved a border dispute with EU member Slovenia. And its new government has stepped up the fight against organised crime.

The EU is also moving ahead: Foreign ministers earlier this week welcomed the creation of a working group to begin drafting Croatia's accession treaty.

Progress could grind to a halt if Zagreb fails to give The Hague a set of artillery logs relating to a controversial military campaign against ethnic Serbs in 1995, however.

Croatia says the papers, which could help put its national hero, General Ante Gotovina, behind bars, cannot be found. But the Netherlands and the UK have threatened to block accession talks unless Zagreb demonstrates good will.

"We would be willing to offer any technical assistance that Croatia would request [in locating the archives]," Ms Clinton said on Thursday.

Mr Jandrokovic declined the offer. "I'm sure that we can solve this problem alone," he said. "These are our documents ...and we will continue with our investigation."

"I will, of course, discuss this issue with my partners, with my colleagues from some Europeans countries. And I'm sure very soon when they analyse the situation, they will change [their] position," he added.

Sensitive area

With EU countries united behind accepting Croatia sooner or later, Ms Clinton's endorsement is unlikely to cause controversy.

In contrast, when US president Barack Obama in June spoke out in favour of Turkish accession - opposed by France and Germany - he drew a public rebuke from the French leader for interfering in EU affairs.

Ms Clinton on Wednesday proceeded with caution when welcoming Ukrainian foreign minister Petro Poroshenko in the US capital.

"We support Ukraine's further integration with Nato and the European Union," she said. "We will certainly support Ukraine becoming more integrated within the European energy security framework."

Ukraine has been asking for an EU membership perspective for five years. But many EU members, including Germany, Austria and the Benelux countries, are against the move.

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