The European Parliament (EP) is not considering the possibility that Croatia may not enter the European Union (EU) on 1 July as planned and there is no plan B, according to the summary of the conclusions of a discussion the EP's foreign affairs committee on Tuesday about a proposed resolution on Croatia's progress.
The committee discussed a draft resolution on a Comprehensive Monitoring Report on Croatia's state of preparedness for EU membership, prepared by EP rapporteur for Croatia, Czech Social Democrat Libor Roucek.
Most of the delegates who took part in the discussion reflected on the problems relating to Slovenia's ratification of Croatia's accession treaty and warned that bilateral issues must not hamper enlargement processes.
Slovenia's delegate Jelko Kacin once again reiterated Slovenia's stance that Croatia was not meeting set preconditions until it withdraws the power of attorney for lawsuits against the now defunct Ljubljanska Banka.
Kacin said that relations with Croatia were a strategic matter and did not depend on who was in government even it that was a provisional government.
He added that the question of the Ljubljanska Banka was not a bilateral matter but a multi-lateral issue and that only one government could prevent Croatia's accession on 1 July and that was the Croatian government.
He rejected the idea that some member countries were trying to pressurise another member country to do something, but that agreement had to be reached.
Roucek underscored that it would be truly tragic if Slovenia, as a friendly and neighbouring country, were to be the last to ratify the treaty. It is of vital interest that Slovenia and Croatia be members of the EU. Should a blockade occur then no-one will win, not Slovenia, not Croatia, not the EU, Roucek said.
A member of the Bavarian Christian-Social Union (CSU) Bernd Posselt said that 1 July 2013 was not an imaginary date but the date that member countries obliged to with their signatures.
Later Posselt told the press that Slovenia would have serious problems if it blocked Croatia's accession to the EU. He recalled that he was the EP's rapporteur for Slovenia and that he assisted in overcoming difficulties set by Italy regarding Slovenia's accession at the time. We cannot accept that because of internal problems a member country blocks an important European question, such as Croatia's accession, Posselt said.
Croatian observer delegate to the EP, Tonino Picula of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), said that Croatia would support its neighbours on their pathway to the EU.
Delegates have two days to submit any objections to Roucek's draft resolution after which it will be forwarded for a second reading to the Committee on Foreign Affairs on 7 February in Strassburg and then to be debated and voted on in March or April at a plenary session.
