The European Parliament's Rapporteur for Croatia, Hannes Swoboda, said in Brussels on Thursday that the accession treaty with Croatia should be signed on December 9, while the Polish EU Presidency could not confirm that date.
The Polish Presidency and the Croatian government want the treaty to be signed on December 9, while we in the European Parliament have to do our part of the work, which we will do to make that date feasible, Swoboda said at a press conference when asked about a possible time-table for a discussion on Croatia's accession treaty in the European Parliament and its signing.
Mariusz Daca, counsellor at Poland's Permanent Representation to the European Union who chairs the Council of the EU working group for drafting the accession treaty with Croatia, said that efforts were being made to ensure that the treaty was signed in December, but he could not confirm the date.
No specific date has been fixed, but we are considering a possible date in December in accordance with progress made in the drafting of the accession treaty and finalisation of the necessary legal procedures. Also, I do not have information as to where the treaty could be signed, Daca said when asked to comment on Swoboda's statement.
The work on drafting the accession treaty is in a final stage and we in the working group are determined to complete the preparatory work and all the envisaged procedures so that the accession treaty could be signed in December and to ensure enough time for the process of ratification in the member states and in Croatia so that Croatia could join the EU on 1 July 2013, Daca said.
If the treaty is signed on December 9, when a summit of EU leaders is to be held in Brussels, that means that it will be signed after parliamentary elections in Croatia, which are scheduled for December 4.
Swoboda said that that would be good, because the elections and the signing of the accession treaty should be separated.
Under EU rules, the signing of an accession treaty requires the approval of the European Parliament.
Swoboda said that that would be put to the vote at a meeting of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee on November 14 and at a plenary session on December 1, after which it would be possible to sign the treaty.
The text of the accession treaty should be finalised by mid-September, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said that he will personally bring it to Zagreb.
