Austrian Socialist Hannes Swoboda, vice-chairman of the S&D group in the EU assembly, said Croatia must do everything possible to locate the documents sought by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, known as 'the artillery files' (see 'Background'), or must prove that they never existed or have been destroyed, Croat agency HINA reported.
However, Swoboda also said the country's EU membership should not depend on just one element of co-operation like the artillery files, because otherwise Croatia's co-operation with the ICTY was in his words "very good".
"The only conflict is still about documents [related to the artillery bombardment of Knin] which the court needs for the trial of former Croatian General Ante Gotovina. There are different views about whether the documents even existed or if they were destroyed. If the latter is the case, it is very hard to deliver them," the Austrian MEP said.
Asked whether Croatia would be able to deliver the documents or proof that they had been destroyed before 3 December, when ICTY Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz is due to present a report on Croatia's cooperation with the ICTY before the UN Security Council, Swoboda said such expectations were unrealistic.
Help from foreign services needed?
"If they haven't been delivered by now, then I don't think that they are going to be delivered within the next few days. This would also prove that they were hidden and that they in fact exist. In my report I mentioned a proposal which I took up from Croatia: namely that there should be people from outside Croatia, security and police experts, who should help Croatia to find the documents. This could be a clear proof if Croatia is cooperating or not," Swoboda said.
The UK, the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium and Denmark are blocking the opening of chapters on the judiciary and fundamental rights in Croatia's EU accession talks, over Brammertz's objections to the artillery logs, which the ICTY requested for the trial of Gotovina and another two retired Croatian generals, HINA writes.
