Sixth Standing Committee
on Delegated Legislation
Tuesday 13 July 2004
[Mr. Eric Forth in the Chair]
The Draft European Communities
(Definition of Treaties)
(Stabilisation and Association
Agreement between the European
Communities and their Member States,
and the Republic of Croatia)
Order 2004
2.30 pm
The Minister for Europe (Mr. Denis MacShane): I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft European Communities (Definition of Treaties) (Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, and the Republic of Croatia) Order 2004.
I welcome you, Mr. Forth, to the first sitting in what I hope will be a long and agreeable period of overseeing discussions about the European Union, the commitment of this country to its EU membership and making the EU work. It is a great pleasure for me to introduce this order on supporting the stabilisation and association agreement with Croatia, because I was asked to take charge of the western Balkans on my appointment to ministerial office in June 2001 and I have travelled there regularly. It is an enormous pleasure to see Croatia knocking on the door for full EU membership. The previous Government of Mr. Racan and the new Government of Mr. Sanader have taken Croatia decisively in the direction of Europe.
It is with great pleasure that the British Government can, I hope, with the agreement of the House, sign up for stabilisation and association agreements, or SAAs, which are a key element of the EU's overall policy framework towards the western Balkans. The so-called stabilisation and association process is intended to help the region move closer to Europe by promoting political dialogue and increased co-operation both with the EU and in the region.
The conclusion of an SAA represents an important milestone on a country's path towards the EU. It constitutes a formal contractual agreement between that country and the EU, covering inter alia trade, regional co-operation; political dialogue; economic and institutional reform; and co-operation in the field of justice and home affairs. It also confirms that the country in question is a potential candidate for EU membership. In order to conclude an SAA, countries must meet clear political, economic and technical criteria. Such an agreement therefore offers a powerful incentive for change and is an important way of building peace and stability in the region. The British Government fully support this policy and the EU aspirations of the western Balkans countries.
The confirmation, through an SAA, that Croatia is a potential candidate for EU membership has been somewhat overtaken by events. EU Heads of State and
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Governments agreed to declare Croatia a candidate for EU membership at last month's European Council, with a view to opening accession negotiations in early 2005. I announced our Government's support for that process in Zagreb in April 2004, since when I have met Prime Minister Sanader and Foreign Minister Zuzul, both in Brussels and in London. The EU membership negotiations attained by Croatia are a significant achievement, which we warmly welcome.
The ratification by Parliament of the SAA, which is part of that process, is still an important step. It provides a contractual basis for EU-Croatia relations as Croatia moves towards accession. The Committee will recall that a draft order ratifying Croatia's SAA was laid before Parliament in October 2002, but was subsequently withdrawn because of our concern about Croatia's lack of co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the so-called ICTY, which operates out of The Hague. Full co-operation with the ICTY is a prerequisite for the further integration of all the western Balkans countries into the EU.
I am pleased to report to the Committee that there has, in recent months, been a step change in Croatia's co-operation with the Hague Tribunal. The ICTY chief prosecutor, Carla del Ponte, has confirmed that she is satisfied with the level of co-operation that is being offered by the Croatian Government.
In my many visits to Croatia, I have said that Britain would not be prepared to authorise an SAA, or put such an order before Parliament, until both we and the chief prosecutor, Mrs. del Ponte, have had clear evidence of co-operation on getting all alleged criminals from Croatia and the conflicts of the 1990s to The Hague. Some other European Governments have perhaps been more generous or have been prepared to lift that condition, but the British Government, with much support from the Dutch Government, which currently holds the presidency of the European Union, have insisted on that clear conditionality.
We welcome the evidence from the Croatian Government of co-operation on compliance with the ICTY, which has been endorsed by Mrs. del Ponte. In recognition of that, the Government have taken the decision to restart the parliamentary process leading to ratification of Croatia's SAA, and I am able to commend this draft order to the Committee. The improvement in co-operation with the ICTY was also the key factor in the decision by Heads of State and Government to declare Croatia an official candidate for EU membership.
Of course, Croatia's obligation to co-operate fully with the ICTY remains. In particular, Carla del Ponte and the EU have made it clear that Croatia must take all necessary steps to locate and detain the fugitive ICTY indictee Ante Gotovina. That gentleman, who formerly served in the French Foreign Legion and, it is sometimes alleged, may have a French passport as well as his Croatian papers, is accused of serious war crimes, against, principally, Serbs during the conflicts of the 1990s.
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It might be necessary to remind the Committee that we meet two days after the ninth anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, which of course did not involve Croatian forces. We are still insisting to Serbia, to Bosnia-Herzegovina, and to Republika Srpska within BiH, that Mr. Karadzic and Mr. Mladic should be delivered to The Hague. We make the same clear demand in terms of the ICTY indictee Gotovina. That obligation is also set out in a number of United Nations Security Council resolutions. The Croatian Government have acknowledged that the obligation remains. I once again put it on the record that until the Gotovina issue is resolved, Croatia cannot truly draw a line under its painful past.
Lack of co-operation with the ICTY remains a fundamental obstacle to lasting stability, reconciliation and prosperity in the region. We are encouraging other Governments in the region, in particular that of Serbia and Montenegro, and the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to take all necessary steps to deliver the outstanding ICTY indictees to The Hague.
We hope that Croatia's achievement sends a signal that difficult decisions pay off. Boris Tadic was installed as Serbia's President on Sunday, having decisively beaten off the challenge of the Milosevic crony Nikolic in the presidential election. We hope that Croatia's clearly setting its cap at EU membership will help reformist and European-minded Serbs to understand that their nation's future lies in becoming a normal part of the European family of nations.
The Croatian experience sends an important signal to the region about the EU's policy of conditionality: if countries meet the political, economic and technical criteria for further integration into the EU, the EU will honour its part of the bargain. Those criteria are the same for every western Balkans country. There are no short cuts. Croatia's experience shows that that policy of conditionality works. I would like to thank the politicians whom I have met during the past three years and the journalists who have allowed me to make these points of view forcefully to the Croatian public: that co-operation with the ICTY is the sine qua non for Croatia and for other countries to be considered as potential members of the EU. The prospect of EU integration is a potent stimulus for reform.
However, despite Croatia's impressive achievements over the past 12 months, we should not underestimate what more remains to be done before its EU accession becomes a reality. I have referred to the need to resolve the case of fugitive indictee Gotovina, but more also needs to be done to ensure that the reality of life for returning refugees, and for ethnic minorities, matches the legislative theory. It is one thing to adopt a law in Parliament, and Croatia has made good progress on that, another to see it implemented in the communities and municipalities on the ground.
We also believe that Croatia's judiciary is in need of further reform. The EU will continue to support Croatia in addressing those outstanding issues, but resolving them will ultimately depend on the continued political will of the Croatian Government.
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To conclude, Croatia's progress towards the EU is a success story for the western Balkans and for the EU. It demonstrates that the EU is right to continue to invest politically and financially in the stability of the region. That I am able to commend the order is testament to the power of EU integration to encourage reform. In ratifying Croatia's SAA, the United Kingdom will send an important signal about our support for reform throughout the region.
2.41 pm
Mr. Richard Spring (West Suffolk) (Con): May I say what a pleasure it is to see you in the Chair, Mr. Forth, particularly in view of your keen interest in European matters?
We believe that the order is not only uncontentious but very much to be welcomed. It represents significant progress in moving forward with Croatia's application to join the European Union, which we very much support. I thank the Minister, not only for setting forth the order but for his role in the western Balkans, which we appreciate. If this is to be our last formal outing together, I should like to acknowledge that role.
The order is technical and declares the agreement with Croatia to be a Community treaty, thereby bringing into play the provisions under section 2 of the European Communities Act 1972. It affords us the opportunity to discuss the progress that Croatia has made towards EU membership and to seek from the Minister a number of clarifications.
As we have heard, Croatia, like the other republics of the former Yugoslavia, suffered conflict and a painful transition process during the 1990s. Her northern neighbour Slovenia has already made the important step of acceding to EU membership, and that remains the eventual aim for Croatia. At the end of last century, the EU's regional approach sought to underpin the Dayton accords of 1995. Happily, we have moved forward since those unhappy times.
I shall briefly set out the relevant background. The Zagreb summit of 2000 set the seal on the stabilisation and association process, the first step towards eventual EU membership. We should be clear about the value and desirability of EU membership, and the important spur to reform that it provides among prospective accession countries in eastern Europe.
In October 2001, Croatia signed a stabilisation and association agreement with the EU, which provided a framework of mutual rights and obligations designed as steps towards meeting the Copenhagen criteria for EU membership. It is supported by the Community assistance for reconstruction, democratisation and stabilisation programme of EU aid, known as CARDS, which gives assistance to Croatia in adapting to the required changes. A trade-related interim agreement was signed in 2002.
The pursuit of EU membership and the implementation of the reforms have been key policy objectives of the Croatian polity. On 21 February 2003, she applied for membership. The basic aims of the agreement and the whole process are to establish structural and economic reforms, to entrench democracy, a functioning market economy and the
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rule of law, and{**mrl**}especially important in Croatia's case{**mrl**}to promote ethnic reconciliation.
EU aid to Croatia, delivered under CARDS, has been significant, and is important if she is to make the transition effectively. In November 2003, progress and ratification of the association agreement was delayed, and I understand the reasons for that.
The Commission opinion on Croatia's progress and suitability to open accession negotiations was received on 20 April 2004, and it is broadly positive and supportive of opening accession negotiations. It stated that, happily, there were no major rule of law problems and that Croatia possessed a functioning market economy, although a number of improvements were suggested. I welcome that opinion and hope that Croatia's application will make progress. I look forward to the day of her accession.
I have only a few questions and requests for clarification. The Minister will be pleased to learn that we fully support the order. If he feels unable to respond verbally to some of my points, I know that he will be happy to write to me, and I will be more than happy to hear from him on that basis.
Although the expectation was that Croatia would not join until after 2007, there are grounds for hoping and expecting that she might be ready before then. Do the Government have a rough idea of when they hope that Croatia's accession process will be complete?
In the various reports and documents that have been produced, including press reports, it has been suggested that greater regional co-operation is still desirable. Has the agreement with Slovenia over the Krsko nuclear plant been ratified yet? That has been the source of some controversy. What is the current state of the dispute over the Prevlaka peninsula? Also, what progress has been made in resolving border issues between Slovenia and Croatia, and are the Government broadly satisfied with Croatia's level of regional co-operation?
Is the Minister satisfied that the Croatian Government are co-operating satisfactorily with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia? He has already touched on that. Although Croatia has taken impressively large steps forward in enacting reforms and creating a new legal and economic framework, are the Government satisfied with the enforcement of those new laws and regulations in Croatia? What progress has Croatia made on the preparation of a joint agreement with Serbia regarding the protection of minorities within Croatia?
The 2003 stabilisation and association report on Croatia notes that the new law on television involving HRT, the national broadcaster, did not fully protect it from either direct or indirect political interference. Do the Government share that view, and is that still the case?
Finally, in the April 2004 European Commission opinion recommending the opening of accession negotiations it was suggested that the Commission
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should have a pre-accession strategy for Croatia. What progress is being made in that respect?
Like the Minister, I recently visited Slovenia. It was made clear to me that Slovenia's joining the EU is part of the rebuilding after the tragedy of ethnic tension and great violence that struck the former Yugoslavian republics, and that if Croatia went down that route, it would have a very beneficial effect on attitudes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This process is about creating a long-term commitment to peace and stability in the region. All of us very much wish that for the people of the region, because they have suffered agonisingly for far too long.
2.48 pm
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