Croatia: Ratification of the Croatian Accession Treaty is of great importance for all actors involved

"The Croatian Accession Treaty needs to be ratified in time for accession on 1 July 2013. This is of great importance for the EU, for Croatia, and for all its neighbours. I call on the remaining Member States who have not yet done so to ratify the Croatian Accession Treaty as soon as possible," said Gunnar Hökmark, Vice-Chairman of the EPP Group and co-Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee EU-Croatia.

"The cost of non-ratification would be beyond measure. Not only would it undermine the process of enlargement and thereby the credibility of the EU, but it would have a ripple effect on other aspiring EU candidates," said Hökmark.

EPP Group Vice-Chairman Hökmark made this statement while chairing the high-level meeting with representatives of Governments and EPP Group sister parties in the countries of South-East Europe, and in the presence of the EU Commissioner on enlargement Stefan Füle.

"Out of the 5 Member States who have not yet ratified the Croatian Accession Treaty, only one has not yet even started the procedure because of a bilateral issue. Bilateral issues should not burden the process of enlargement at any stage. I would like to appeal for common sense and a bilateral solution regarding the Ljubljanska banka in the interest of the whole of the European Union", concluded Gunnar Hökmark MEP.