Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs Zuzul: Croatia made a big step today

Strasbourg, April 20 - An 'avis' that is this positive offers a basis for realistic expectations of the European Council granting Croatia candidate status and setting a date for the start of accession talks at a summit in June, Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs Miomir Zuzul commented the European Commission decision.

"The avis gives us the right to expect not only a positive decision of the European Council in June, but also a date for the start of accession talks," Zuzul said in Strasbourg where he arrived together with Croatian Minister of European Integration Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic to attend the announcement of the European Commission's opinion on Croatia's EU membership application, ‘avis’.

Commenting on the ‘avis’, in which the European Commission recommends that the European Council open accession talks with Croatia on full EU membership, Minister Zuzul said that this was "a great result, a result of the government's work and orientation of the entire nation".

"I am satisfied with the fact that the Commission has recognized what the Croatian government, the Croatian people and citizens are doing, and I believe that we have made a big step. It is now up to us to continue progress on this path," Minister Zuzul said.

He thanked "the European Commission, its President Romano Prodi, Commissioners (Chris) Patten and (Guenter) Verheugen and other EC members, as well as the former and current governments, and visionary Ivo Sanader" for the ‘avis’.