One of the least controversial issues at the summit appears to be the decision to close accession talks with Croatia, a country relatively developed in comparison even with some of the latest EU newcomers, but which has been delayed on its accession path as a result of the fratricide wars with post-Yugoslav Balkan states.
The most difficult chapter in Croatia's talks is 'Judiciary and Fundamental Rights'. An important part of this chapter is the country's cooperation with the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The country has three more chapters to conclude: Competition Policy, Finance and Budgetary Provisions, and Other Issues, which is of a technical nature.
The draft summit conclusions, obtained by EurActiv, read:
"Accession negotiations with Croatia have reached their final stage. The ongoing examination of the remaining negotiating chapters by the Council is being conducted in full respect of strict conditionality and in line with the negotiating framework. In the light of the progress made and the Commission's positive assessment, the European Council calls for the conclusion of the accession negotiations with Croatia by the end of June 2011 on the basis of the draft common positions recently presented by the Commission, with a view to the signing of the Accession Treaty before the end of the year."
Diplomatic battle
But behind the words, a diplomatic battle is raging over imposing a monitoring mechanism on Croatia, an idea advocated by France and the Netherlands. The Commission and the vast majority of EU countries are against imposing any monitoring on Croatia after its accession. Similar monitoring of Bulgaria and Romania has produced few results, say diplomats ,who insist that the "soft pressure" of the EU works better in the pre-accession period.
An "additional mechanism" to monitor Croatia's commitments between the end of the negotiations and accession would appear to be acceptable to Zagreb.
Speaking in Luxembourg last Monday (20 June), Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Jandrokovic said that Croatia was not concerned about any monitoring, on the modalities of which talks were under way among EU member countries.
"We believe that [monitoring] can motivate us additionally. The most important thing is that the monitoring is below the level of monitoring applied to some member countries, which is proof of how much the EU trusts Croatia," Jandrokovic was quoted as saying by Croatia's HINA agency.
However, EurActiv has learned that the Netherlands is insisting that the monitoring mechanism imposed on Croatia should continue in the field of justice and home affairs, until the country is able to join the Schengen border free-area.
Normally, it takes a few years for new EU members to become Schengen members too. Bulgaria and Romania, which joined the EU in January 2007, are still struggling to join Schengen. Sofia and Bucharest say that they have met all the technical criteria, but Paris and Berlin insist that both countries must first emerge from EU monitoring before being welcomed into the Schengen club.
The ball appears to be in Zagreb's court. The country has one full week until the end of the month to make its decision or try to mollify the Netherlands, diplomats say.
'New momentum for the Western Balkans'
The Council conclusions also state that the closure of Croatia's talks brings "new momentum to the European perspective of the Western Balkans". Remarkably, Turkey is not mentioned. Among the Western Balkan countries, Montenegro and Macedonia have the status of candidate countries, although the EU progress of the latter has been held back for years by its 'name dispute' with Greece. Serbia could be next to obtain candidate status, although its relations with Kosovo appear to be a risk factor.
It remains unclear whether Kosovo, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which diplomats say "lack political maturity," will be able to benefit from this "new momentum".
