EU red light for Croatia

Croatia’s EU entry bid is on hold until Europe’s capitals are satisfied with Zagreb's efforts to hunt down an indicted war criminal.

No date has been set for the EU to open membership talks with Croatia – negotiations should have been started on Thursday March 17.

Meeting on Wednesday EU foreign ministers stated that talks could begin when Croatia demonstrates its “full cooperation” with the UN war-crimes tribunal based in The Hague.

“Croatia has to work harder than it has so far. We didn't go down the road of setting a new date,” Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said for the EU presidency.

“The door is open for Croatia and it could be opened up in a month.”

Zagreb’s time in the cold is unlikely to last long with support for Croatia strong in some EU countries.

Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia are pushing hard for negotiations with Croatia to start on time.

Vienna argues that Zagreb has made the grade on the economic and political reforms necessary to qualify for membership talks.

“It's a matter of fairness. I will make an effort to see that negotiations can start. My motto ... is 'Fairness for Croatia',” said Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik.

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