Zeljko Kupresak, the Croatian ambassador to Serbia, said on Saturday (5 December) that Croatia, as the Western Balkan country that has advanced farthest on the road to European Union membership, was willing to help all countries in the region with their own accession bids, the Croatian agency HINA reported.
"Croatia has said it will make available its translation of the 'acquis communautaire' not just to Serbia but to all countries as soon as they begin accession negotiations with the EU," Kupresak told an international conference of non-governmental youth organisations in Belgrade.
"Here I mean countries with similar languages, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro."
Kupresak added that Croatia would seek no compensation and that it would be a gesture of goodwill, because accelerating the European integration of countries in the region was in Zagreb's interest. He denied Serbian newspaper reports that Croatia would not provide its translations to Serbia despite its promise.
Kupresak said the European integration project could not and should not be considered complete until all Western Balkan countries were fully integrated into the European Union, adding that this was the only way to achieve lasting stability, security and prosperity in the region.
Pierre Mirel, head of the European Commission's Western Balkans departmente, dismissed concerns expressed by some officials in the Balkans that the EU would close its doors to other membership hopefuls after admitting Croatia.
Among the biggest challenges facing Western Balkan countries on the path to EU accession, Mirel cited consolidation of the rule of law, settlement of mutual border disputes, war crime prosecution, and the need to further promote regional cooperation in order to settle the status of refugees and internally-displaced people.
