Welcome to this special extra October issue of Croats in London.

This month, we are delighted to have an interview with His Excellency Josko Paro,
Croatian Ambassador to the UK since October 2002

Interview with Josko Paro

How do you assess UK-Croatia relations at the moment?

In the last couple of years, up to now Croatian-British relations have been focused and indeed burdened
with the question of the quality of our co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia (ICTY). Although that was dominant problem and quite frustrating, behind it Croatia enjoyed
staunch support in its endeavour to get closer to the Euro-Atlantic structures.

Now, with the EU accession talks undergoing, we are happy that we can turn our energies more into
many other fields of cooperation, ranging from the very accession process, stepping-up economic and
trade relation to the possible cooperation in the region. Namely Britain and Croatia obviously share their
interest to see the EU enlarged to our south-eastern neighbours.

Also, with the clarity of the EU membership perspective, I am confident that Croatia will become
increasingly attractive for the British investors. As we would be adopting EU acquis communitaire, the
business environment in Croatia will increasingly resemble that of the European Union. We are quite
confident that our accession would not take long.

On the 26th we will have a visit by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott to Croatia.
As the highest official level visit so far, Mr. Prescott visit would be a symbolic opportunity for the resumption of the quite a promising relationship we had started to develop before the Gotovina issue came a wedge between us and our European ambitions.

You recently had a letter published in the Times (in response to a critical leader on Croatia). Can you tell us about that?

The letter tells everything; there is no need to repeat it. I have to say that we were all quite annoyed by the media speculations on what was really conducive to the decision of the EU to open the accession talks with Croatia. As the Foreign Secretary Straw explained the other day, there was no link between the issue of the Turkish accession Negotiating Framework and Croatia. Each country gets to the EU membership on its own merits. The EU decision to open the talks with Croatia had nothing to do with Turkey, Austria or Britain, but with the obvious resolve and the capability of the Croatian Prime Minister to provide full political leadership in the Government search for a fugitive from justice, be him or her a general or Miss Croatia. What really matters is the rule of law. Few countries’ dedication to that fundamental principle has been submitted to such a scrutiny, and we have passed the exam. That’s the whole truth. All that speculation about horse trading between Austria, the Presidency and Turkey completely misses the point, and has no basis in reality.

Do you have an opinion on when Croatia will join theEU?

I rely on what (EU) Commissioner Rehn says that Croatia has well organized negotiating machinery and we do not expect the accession to take long. We have been able to gather a vast experience through the process of negotiations and particularly implementation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement which covered a good part of what is part of the traditional accession process. So far Croatia has been very successful in implementing the SAA, and saying that I would like to stress that now at the beginning of the accession talks we are not at the zero point of the accession as such. Adding to that the resolve plus the political consensus on Europe among the political and public elite, we should be very optimistic. That is also the opinion of British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw who the other day in Parliament said it would take only a few years. With the little bit of luck and support, we believe that maybe in 2009 Croatian citizens would be able to cast their ballots for the European Parliament. But, beyond any speculations on the timing, let me just say that the most important thing is that the we have started the process.

How much time does the embassy put into the UK interest in property in Croatia?

We are not advertising or pushing people to invest in property, but just providing information about the legal framework.

We are more active in our attempts to attract investors into services and other industries in Croatia.

What about the Visa requirement? (Croatian citizens require a visa to enter the UK). Has there been any change in position?

Yes and no. We are constantly in communication with both the Home Office and the Foreign Office on that issue. We believe that the present visa requirement regime is under serious reconsideration by the UK Government, and I seriously doubt that a single justifiable reason could be found for further procrastination of its abolition. The reasons that were conducive to the imposition of the visa requirement in 1999 have long ceased to exist and this is something the British administration agrees on. The UK is the only country in Europe with the visa requirements for the Croatian nationals. It is not a secret that Croatia is not an emigration emitting country, nor we produce asylum seekers, genuine or false.

What are the priorities of the embassy outside of the EU/Visa issues?

The embassy does its best to present Croatia’s culture, to detach Croatia’s image from the instability area to the pleasure area. Tourism is certainly a very helpful feature. Nowadays when you mention Croatia there would be very few people to associate it with anything but the pleasure of holidays. What we would like to add to this image is Croatia as a country of a good and great investment.

Noticeboard

Only events run by known and reputable bodies will be listed here.

2-25 November: Healing Colours by Mladen Peric. Croatian embassy Art Gallery. Open Monday-Friday 10.00 - 14.00.

9 November: 7.30 PM Wigmore Hall - Concert by Alexander Ivashkin (cello) Mikhail Rudy (piano) to raise funds for the education of Stjepan Hauser at Trinity College of Music. Further details: 020 7935 2141

30 November 7.30 PM Wigmore Hall - Adam International Cello Festival & Competition. Includes contribution from Croatian cellist Monika Leskovar (see our interview with her last issue) Further details: 020 7935 2141

The next issue of Croats in London will be out in November

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