Croatia Might Face Another Blockade - Current Events - Croatia

The Luxemburg foreign minister said Croatia had to fulfil the Hague tribunal’s requests or the 23rd chapter will be blocked.

ZAGREB, CROATIA – Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said on Monday that Croatia had to fulfil the requests of the war crimes tribunal’s prosecution if it wants to avoid a long-term blockade of accession negotiations in the chapter of the judiciary and basic rights.

I think the Croatian government has to invest efforts, otherwise there is a danger of blockade in

European Union’s enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn is once again meeting Croatian and Slovenian foreign ministers Gordan Jandrokovic and Samuel Zbogar in Luxembourg when he should present an amended draft agreement on arbitration, which should unblock Croatia’s accession negotiations with the European Union.

Chapter 23 which will last, Asselborn said ahead of a meeting of EU member countries’ foreign ministers.

At a working lunch, the Hague tribunal’s chief prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, will join the foreign ministers to appraise them of cooperation of countries which are under the tribunal’s jurisdiction.

It is clear that Croatia has to hand over 23 documents to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). It must make all efforts to fulfil the ICTY’s request – Asselborn said.

In his last report to the UN Security Council, Brammertz said that the prosecution is seeking 98 documents from Croatia, of which Croatia recognised the existence of 23, which it has still not delivered. They are the so-called artillery logs from Croatia’s military operation “Storm” and are related to the trial of generals Gotovina, Cermak and Markac before the ICTY.

Croatia asked of the ICTY’s trial chamber to assess its cooperation because it does not agree with prosecutor Brammertz’s assessment.

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