Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 129: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on EU accession negotiations with Croatia; if he envisages any delay in Croatian accession to the Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7590/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The June 2004 European Council considered Croatia's application for membership of the EU on the basis of the Commission opinion presented in April 2004. The European Council agreed that Croatia meets the Copenhagen political criteria. It decided that Croatia is a candidate country for membership and that a bilateral intergovernmental conference should be convened early in 2005 in order to begin accession negotiations. The negotiations would be based on Croatia's own merits and the pace of progress would depend solely on the fulfilment of the requirements for membership. In taking this decision the European Council emphasised that Croatia needed to maintain full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, and to take all necessary steps to ensure that the one Croatian indictee still at large was located and transferred to The Hague for trial.

The December 2004 European Council confirmed the June decision and invited the Commission to present a proposal for a framework for negotiations with Croatia. It requested the Council to agree on the terms of the framework with a view to the opening of accession negotiations on 17 March 2005 provided that there is full cooperation with the Tribunal. The negotiating framework is at present under consideration by member states and I expect that it will be ready for approval by the next meeting of the General Affairs Council on 16 March. The Council will also have to decide on the issue of cooperation with the Tribunal. The General Affairs and External Relations Council which I attended in Brussels on 21 February agreed that full and unconditional cooperation with ICTY remains an essential requirement for continued progress towards the EU by all of the countries of the western Balkans. It also urged Croatia to take the necessary steps for full cooperation and reiterated that the last remaining indictee must be located and transferred to The Hague as soon as possible.

Croatia has made very substantial progress in the adoption and implementation of difficult reforms in recent years and has earned the status of candidate for membership of the Union. The opening of accession negotiations will be a very important moment in the history of Croatia. It should also be an encouragement to the other countries of the western Balkans to pursue their reforms. I hope that it will prove possible to begin accession negotiations as planned on 17 March.