Germany does not doubt Croatia's readiness for European Union membership, as evidenced by the unanimous ratification of the accession treaty in the Bundesrat and the nearly unanimous ratification in the Bundestag, Bundestag Speaker Norbert Lammert said on Friday.
He met with Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko in Berlin and welcomed Croatia to the EU, saying today's unanimous ratification in the Bundesrat, and the ratification in the Bundestag on May 16 with only six abstentions, showed that Germany did not doubt Croatia's readiness for EU membership.
Lammert said Germany would continue to assist Croatia after it joined the EU and closely follow to see if Croatia was meeting its commitments. This is very important to Berlin not because it doubts Croatia, but because of the bad experience in the previous enlargement rounds, when it transpired that some new member countries had not fully met everything that had been agreed in the accession process, he added.
Leko thanked Germany for the constant support during the European integration process. He said Croatia was aware of the commitments it had undertaken and that it was determined to fully meet them. He said he would like the Croatian and German parliaments to intensify cooperation, notably in the control of EU decisions.
