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Talk about Croatia's EU Accession |
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Written by Marko
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Tuesday, 15 February 2005 |
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Year 2004 has been a tremendous success for Croatia's efforts to join the European Union. In April Croatia received a positive avis from the Commission; in June it became an official EU candidate country; and in December it got a (somewhat conditional) confirmation of the beginning of negotiations on the 17th of March, 2005.
Croatia's progress towards full EU membership presents the whole region of South Eastern Europe with a number of opportunities and challenges that appear to be perceived differently in various European centres. What does the conditionality on Croatia's negotiations mean? What effect will Croatia's membership have on its political system? How will it affect its relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina? What lessons will Serbia and Montenegro and Republika Srpska be able to draw from it, particularly regarding cooperation with The Hague Tribunal?
These and many other questions will be the subject of a presentation and subsequent discussion with Dr Tomislav Sunic, Minister Counsellor at the Croatian Embassy in London.
Dr Sunic is a political scientist educated in the United States at the University of California - Santa Barbara. He is the author of "Against Democracy and Equality: the European New Right", "Titoism and Dissidence: Studies in the History and Dissolution of Communist Yugoslavia", and many other books and articles. Since Croatia's independence, he has worked actively in its diplomatic service.
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