Croatia prepares to join the EU
ZAGREB – With Croatia the next Balkan state in line for European Union membership and during a time of renewed speculation about stability in the Balkans due to floundering talks on Kosovo’s final status, Kathimerini spoke to Croatian President Stipe Mesic about his country’s progress in adopting EU standards and about the challenges it still faces. Mesic also stressed the importance of further EU enlargement to incorporate the Balkans into a larger European family and boost stability and prosperity in the region. Mesic highlighted Kosovo as the chief source of instability in the Balkans and called for a calm and measured approach from all sides involved in negotiations to determine the province’s final status. Finally, the Croatian president expressed his hopes for boosting bilateral relations with Greece, highlighting the sectors of shipbuilding, olive cultivation and tourism, where cooperation between the two countries could thrive. Mr President, after the accession of Bulgaria and Romania, Croatia appears to have the best prospects to become a new member of the European Union. This step will probably bring the Balkans close to its goal of creating a political and economic environment. Are European prospects really sufficient for ensuring peace, stability and prosperity to all the nations in the Balkan region? Of course prospects alone are not enough. However, without them there is definitively no peace or stability or progress in this part of Europe. This is why it is so crucial for all the countries in the region to embrace European democratic standards because that implies the creation of conditions for building and ensuring peace, stability and prosperity. Therefore, the most important thing is that all the countries in the region should have the same strategic goal and, as you say, the same European prospects. I have said on many occasions that the European unification is a millennial venture because Europe is uniting, for the first time in its history, on the basis of the wishes and interests of all its states and people and not only on the basis of the power and interests of whoever wields power. It is precisely in this united European family that I see this region. This project can never be completed without including the countries of Southeast Europe. Of course, each country in the region will enter the Union when it is ready for it, when it embraces the standards and when it meets the assumed obligations. Croatia has currently closed two chapters of the 11 opened so far. The crucial point, in our belief, is the quality of preparation and adjustment to European standards – meaning that we should do our part of the job. The next move is up to the European Union. I believe that such a course is also good for other countries in the region, and Croatia – as a country which has progressed most along the road toward Europe – is ready to help them with its example and experience. With regard to efforts to create a better future for all of us, what is the role of other mechanisms, for example the Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP) or NATO, in the region? These organizations promote and ensure cooperation but also the acceptance of common values. This is why we believe membership in these organizations to be so important. Participation in regional organizations is even more important if we bear in mind the recent wars in this part of the world and the need to get rid of the liabilities imposed by these wars. In the process we must not forget that stability and peace in this region are also important for the stability of the greater region, and even of Europe as a whole. The embracing of democratic standards is a guarantee that unresolved problems will never again be resolved by arms and wars but by negotiations. Unfortunately, there are still unresolved problems, and Kosovo is the major one. We are now approaching maybe the final and most critical phase in the process focused on finding a solution. Are you optimistic with respect to the progress of the negotiations between the two parties? Let me say that I simply have to be an optimist, and I think there are sufficient reasons for that. We must not allow heated political rhetoric, from whatever quarter, to cloud the overall picture, and even less to obscure the prospects of resolution. And we cannot accept under any conditions the possibility that this part of Europe could again become a source of instability. A status quo over a longer term is not sustainable and that, I think, is quite clear to everybody, even to those who pretend not to understand. What are the major obstacles on the road toward progress in the resolution of the Kosovo issue? Slavish reliance on the past and historical myths on either side. We must live for today and aspire toward solutions for tomorrow, for the future. That is the key point. Of course, I am referring to solutions which take into account the legitimate interests of all the parties involved and do not proceed from a situation in which one side would be an absolute winner and the other an absolute loser. Of course European standards should also be applied fully in this particular case. On the bilateral level, how do you look at the prospects in Greek-Croatian bilateral relations? In which fields can our countries cooperate in order to enhance our bilateral relations? Both Croatia and Greece are Mediterranean countries. Vestiges of Hellenic culture are still visible on our islands and on our coast, showing that our ties reach far back into history; they are part of our culture. That is the foundation to build on, including the relations developed during the former Yugoslavia. In a nutshell: shipbuilding, olive growing, tourism. All these are areas in which we can be partners and not necessarily competitors or rivals. Moreover, on the global level we face the same problems and that implies not only the possibility but also the necessity of cooperating within international organizations, primarily in the United Nations.
