Josipovic:Zagreb will not hinder Serbia along path toward EU

BELGRADE - Zagreb will not hinder Serbia along the path toward the EU, Croatian President Ivo Josipovic has said before a meeting of South-East Europe (SEE) leaders in Dubrovnik on July 15.

In recent years, much has been done to improve relations between Belgrade and Zagreb, Josipovic said in an interview that was published in the Monday issue of the Belgrade-based daily Vecernje Novosti.

Cooperation is fairly developed, steps forward continual, although not spectacular, and as such less visible and attractive for the public, he said.
“Today, which was unimaginable earlier, we have also significant military cooperation,” the Croatian president underscored.
Josipovic said that it will depend on Serbia and the pace of reforms solely when it will join the EU, underlining that he would like that to happen as soon as possible.

Ahead of the third meeting of the Brdo Brijuni Process in Dubrovnik, which will address further EU enlargement, Josipovic said that the arrival of German Chancellor Angela Merkel implies that the EU wants to continue expanding to the Balkans.
Josipovic underlined that the Croatian parliament passed a declaration “which clearly states that the country will not blackmail or halt its neighbors in their efforts to join the EU”, but noted that the solving of open issues will be important for evaluating whether the requirements have been met.
“By that, I do not mean that Croatia would blackmail neighbors, but that the capacity to resolve open issues with neighbors will be an important test for us all,” Josipovic said.

The Croatian president said that the main message of the meeting in Dubrovnik will be that “the EU considers the entire region to be a part of Europe and that the...