Annemie Neyts, European Liberal Democrat and Reform (ELDR) Party President, stressed that Europe's Liberal democrats are staunch supporters of the EU enlargement and of Croatia's entry into the EU. “The reform of the EU institutions must not be used to postpone Croatia's accession to the EU. We are against a moratorium on the EU enlargement, which would prevent Croatia, Turkey and the countries of South East Europe to join the EU. The EU must respect the promises made provided the candidate countries have carried out the necessary reforms to join the EU”, she said.

Looking back at what lessons can be learnt from Croatia's march to the EU, Vesna Pusić, Leader of Croatia People's party- liberal democrats (HNS) and ELDR Party Vice-President highlighted the need to forge consensus among all political parties in Croatia before engaging into accession negotiations. In her view, the “EU accession process requires a consensus among all political parties, as well as between the government and the citizens. This is the only way to ensure support for reforms”.

Ivan Jakovčić, IDS Leader, Governor of Istria County and Radimir Čačić, Governor of Varaždin County stressed the need for further decentralisation to make the best use of the funds available for structural refoms in Croatia.

On the issue of stabilisation of Kosovo and Serbia, Annemie Neyts concluded that the European Liberal Democrats and the liberal parties in Serbia and Kosovo were able to enter a constructive dialogue, aiming at Kosovo´s independence with guarantees for minority rights and the acceptation of the current borders. Representatives from liberal parties of the region called for Serbian politicians to face the legacy of Slobodan Milosevic, former president of Yugoslavia and look at the future. Gjerg Dedaj, Leader of the Liberal Party of Kosovo, Member of Kosovo Assembly and Petar Miletić, Secretary General of the Independent Liberal party of Kosovo, a party representing the Serb minority in Kosovo, stated their willingness to work together. Gjerg Dedaj stressed that what matters now is the situation of Kosovo after the definition of its status. “Kosovo needs institutions that are strong enough to deliver the policies needed for improving the living conditions of its citizens”, he stated.

Čedomir Jovanović, Leader of the Liberal-democratic Party of Serbia, Member of the Serbian Parliament, called for a change of values in Serbia and for a fast resolution of the status of Kosovo. Jovanović underlined that “1990 was the year when Serbia lost her right to administer Kosovo. Serbia must contribute to create good conditions for Serbs living in Kosovo. It is urgent to stop delaying the implementation of the proposal made by Martti Ahtisaari, the United Nations special envoy for Kosovo”. “ Serbia can regain leadership in the region by dealing with the real problems affecting her, such as the reform of the education and healthcare systems, the privatisation of the economy and economic development,” he added.

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For more information, please contact ELDR Press officer Myriam Cornillet (mcornillet@eldr.org), 00 32 2 237 01 43 or 00 32 485 99 40 56.

Note to the editor:

The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party, aisbl (ELDR Party) brings together 50 political parties with common liberal, democratic and reform ideals and is the forum for member parties to develop a co-ordinated policy.