WRITTEN QUESTION E-0740/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(11 March 2003)

Subject: Croatia's application to join the EU in 2007 at the same time as Romania and Bulgaria

1. Does the Commission consider that the wish expressed by the Croatian government on 21 February 2003 that Croatia should join the EU in 2007 along with Romania and Bulgaria is technically feasible, given that negotiations on accession and transposition of the Community acquis have not started?

2. Does the Commission consider that the fact that the neighbouring states of Slovenia and Hungary will most probably be members of the EU at that time and that Croatia is economically stronger and has sea ports that are used by other Member States is a reason why Croatia should be admitted to the EU earlier than most of the other states of the former Yugoslav federation?

3. What solution does the Commission envisage for the fact that most of the Serbian minority, who were invited to settle in Croatia centuries ago by the Austro-Hungarian empire to defend Croatia's border areas (Krajina) against the Turkish military threat from neighbouring Bosnia-Herzegovina, fled Croatia in 1995 and do not feel it is safe to return there, as a result of which this population group has fallen from 12 % to 4,5 % of the total population since 1991?

4. What solution does the Commission see for the claims made by the Croatian opposition and a very large section of Croatian public opinion on the south-west area of neighbouring Bosnia-Herzegovina bordering Dalmatia which is predominantly populated by Croats, and does it consider that it is really possible for one section of the Croat population soon to live within the EU area and another outside it?

5. When will Croatia be told when and under what conditions EU accession is a real possibility and what is the anticipated date of accession?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(30 April 2003)

1. On 21 February 2003, Croatia submitted an application for Union-membership. In accordance with Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union, this application was addressed to the Council of the Union.

The next step in the process will be that, at one of its next meetings, the Council is likely to ask the Commission to prepare an Opinion (Avis) on Croatia's application. From the moment the Commission receives this request and based on previous experience, it is expected that the preparation of the Opinion will take about a year. The Council, after analysing the Commission's Opinion and its recommendation, may decide whether or not to open accession negotiations, based on the fulfilment of the necessary criteria by Croatia.

At this stage, the Commission cannot speculate on a timetable beyond these next steps, as it will depend on the pace of Croatia's political, economic, legal and administrative reform process.

2. The conditions for joining the Union are established in Articles 49 and 6 of the Treaty on European Union and further set out by the European Council of Copenhagen in June 1993. The fulfilment of these criteria and Croatia's progress in the Stabilisation and Association Process will determine when Croatia will be able to join the Union. These criteria will be the same for all countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process. The pace of their progress towards the Union will depend on their own merits.

3. The obligations on Croatia concerning the return of refugees and displaced persons stem from the Dayton/Paris Agreements. These obligations constitute also a cornerstone of the Stabilisation and Association Process for the region. The Commission has on various occasions reminded Croatia that efforts to facilitate the return of refugees need to be intensified. Any solution needs to address both the complex issues of housing (reconstruction of destroyed property, repossession of occupied property and the resolution of the problem of lost tenancy/occupancy rights) and the lack of economic opportunities in the return areas. According to ODPR(1), there were 9 640 minority returns to Croatia in 2002. According to UNHCR a total of 228 000 refugees from Croatia remain displaced in Serbia and Montenegro and about 22 000 in BiH.

According to the Croatian Office for Displaced Persons and Refugees (ODPR), a total of 305 379 people returned to their homes from within (internally displaced persons IDP's) or outside (refugees) Croatia up to the end of 2002.

207 320 IDP's are of Croat ethnicity. 98 058 persons are of Serb ethnicity of which 69 427 came from FRY and 5 963 from BiH (i.e. a total of 75 390 refugees), and 22 668 IDP's from the Danube region.

The return figures for 2002 are approximately 11 000 refugees (all Serbs) and 6 557 DP's (both Serbs and Croats). The corresponding figures in 2001 were the same for refugees (Serbs) and 10 846 IDP's (both Serbs and Croats). According the ODPR, there are currently 8 055 refugees (7 342 from BiH and 713 from Kosovo) and 17 100 DP's (13 748 Croats and 3 352 Serbs) in Croatia.

The Community has provided financial support to Croatia for post war reconstruction and refugee return since 1996. These programmes were initially designed to deliver emergency aid in the immediate post-war period. From 1996-2000 EUR 61,5 million were spent primarily for the reconstruction of housing units. The CARDS Programme is now increasingly focussing on a longer-term approach trying to foster socio-economic development in the war affected areas. For the period 2001-2004, EUR 65,2 million are allocated to refugee return within the overall CARDS national programme for Croatia.

4. The Commission cannot speculate on the internal positions of the political parties of Croatia. However, the Commission would like to recall that Croatia is party to the Dayton/Paris Peace Agreements which guarantee the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Also, under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), Croatia is committed to regional co-operation and the development of good neighbourly relations. There is no doubt that the respect of existing borders forms part of this obligation.

The Union is not founded on the principle of ethnicity but on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law. The ethnic composition of the population of either Croatia or Bosnia and Herzegovina will therefore have no influence on the date when these countries will be able to join the Union. Furthermore, there are numerous past and current examples in the Union of ethnic groups living partly inside and partly outside the Union.

5. The Feira European Council of June 2000 gave all countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process, including Croatia, the status of potential candidates to the Union. This commitment is also recalled in the

SAA signed with Croatia in October 2001. Therefore, accession is a real possibility for Croatia, subject to its fulfilling the conditions laid down in the Treaty on European Union, the criteria defined by the European Council of Copenhagen in June 1993 and the successful implementation of the SAA, notably regional co-operation.

As indicated in the reply to question 1, at this stage, the Commission cannot speculate on any possible date for accession. The pace of Croatia's political, economic, legal and administrative reform process will determine when the country will be able to fulfil the above mentioned criteria.

(1) The Croatian Ministry for Public Works, Reconstruction and Construction, Department for Expellees, Returnees and Refugees.