Croatian, Italian Diplomats: ZERP - Urgent Issue

The Italian ambassador and Mario Zubovic expressed hope to solve the problem soon through dialogue between the interested parties.

ZAGREB, CROATIA - The president of the Parliamentary Committee of Foreign Policy, Mario Zubovic, and the Italian ambassador in Zagreb, Alessandro Pignatti Morana, agreed on Monday that the ZERP (Protected Ecological Fishery Zone) issue has to be solved, in order to intensify Croatia’s talks with the EU. They expressed hope to solve the issue soon through dialogue between the interested parties – the Croatian parliament reported.

Zubovic thanked Morana for the support that Italy is giving to Croatia in the process of Euro-Atlantic integration. The Italian ambassador announced support to Croatia for receiving the invitation letter for NATO in the upcoming summit in Bucharest.

While discussing the economical cooperation the two highlighted the growth of Italian investments in the trade of products. They put a stress on tourism which offers a potential for further intensification of the cooperation.

Zubovic also received the Portuguese Ambassador, Luis Barreiros, during his official visit to Croatia. Barreiros reported that Croatia is not completely satisfied with intensity of the development of the talks with the EU, adding that a bilateral issue should not influence the negotiations.

Supporting Croatia’s membership to the EU and NATO, ambassador Barreiros stressed the importance of the conclusion of reforms and consequent implementation of legislations. He added that he expects Croatia to open the remaining chapters in the negotiations soon.