Croatia Says Still Aims To Finish EU Talks In 2009

EU states can block candidates from joining the bloc, which offers trading benefits to members.

Croatia is determined to complete European Union membership talks next year as planned despite Slovenia's move to slow them down over a border dispute, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said on Thursday

"This blockade will not slow us down in implementing reforms. We want to complete the job in 2009, this remains our aim," Sanader told reporters after meeting leaders of all parliamentary parties.

EU member Slovenia says Croatia has been using official documents in EU talks that are prejudicial to their 17-year old border disagreement. Slovenia says it will not allow Zagreb to progress in several areas of the talks, a move that angered many Croats, who called it blackmail and demanded a boycott of Slovenian products.

EU states can block candidates from joining the bloc, which offers trading benefits to members.

Sanader said he hoped Croatia's smaller northwestern neighbour would reconsider its decision.

Central bank governor Zeljko Rohatinski told a separate news conference any slowdown in EU accession could be risky for Croatia, whose economy is burdened by high foreign debt and current account deficit.

"Our credit rating has been kept stable primarily because of the prospect of fast EU entry. Should this fast entry become questionable, we could be looking at a credit rating downgrade," he said.

Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor said on Wednesday he would veto Croatia's opening of nine negotiating 'chapters' and the closing of three in Brussels on Dec. 19, which analysts said could make it impossible for Zagreb to complete talks in 2009.

Reforms a country needs to implement to win EU membership are divided into 35 chapters, which need to be opened and closed with consent from all 27 EU members.

Croatia had hoped to open 10 chapters and close five, particularly after current EU president France started a diplomatic campaign to find a compromise acceptable to both former Yugoslav republics over the border issue.

The two countries have been unable to agree on a sliver of land and Adriatic sea border since they proclaimed independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

EU ministers said last week Croatia needed to make more progress in judicial, administrative and economic reform, the fight against corruption and organised crime, the protection of minorities, the return of refugees, and the prosecution of war crimes.