28/04/2011 President
Strasbourg, 28.04.2011 - Croatia is “on the right track” in its European integration and could become a model for other Western Balkan countries in their drive for EU membership, PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said, speaking mid-way through a two-day official visit to the country (28-29 April).
The country has made “remarkable progress in establishing democratic norms and practices, in the protection of human rights and in building a state based on the rule of law”, the President said, demonstrating its potential to play the same positive role when it becomes an EU member.
Croatia had made “considerable efforts” to deal with the past, Mr Çavuşoğlu said, also praising its role in fostering reconciliation and co-operation in the region. Further effort was still needed to pursue war crimes prosecutions at domestic level. Finding a “fair and final solution” to the property issues of refugees and IDPs would also help to close this chapter.
He urged the Croatian authorities to pursue the reform of the judiciary in order to increase its efficiency and professionalism.
He also commended the “zero tolerance” shown by the Croatian authorities to corruption and efforts to fight organised crime, and urged them to show courage and determination in pursuing this policy, to further strengthen regional co-operation in these areas and to make extensive use of the help of Council of Europe bodies.
“Much has been achieved in the field of minority rights, but further efforts are needed to eradicate hatred inherited from the past and improve the situation of the Roma,” the President said.
Talks also focused on the current reform of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights, as well as on the need for greater co-operation and intercultural and inter-religious dialogue in the Mediterranean, in the light of current events in North Africa.
Recalling the benefits Croatia had drawn from its fifteen years as a member of the Council of Europe, he concluded: “The Council of Europe needs Croatia as much as Croatia needs the Council of Europe, because we can only find appropriate answers by joining efforts.”
During his visit, Mr Çavuşoğlu met the President of the Republic, the Speaker of Parliament and the Prime Minister, as well as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and European Integration, among others.