Croatia 2005 progress report

Abstract

Following the conclusions of the Luxembourg European Council in December 1997, the Commission has reported regularly to the Council and the Parliament on progress made by the candidate states in preparing for EU membership. This Progress Report is the first such report on Croatia following the decision of the European Council of 17 and 18 June 2004 that Croatia is a candidate country. In December 2004, the European Council stated that: “The European Council noted with satisfaction the progress made by Croatia in preparation for the opening of accession negotiations. Reaffirming its conclusions of June 2004, it urged Croatia to take the necessary steps for full cooperation with ICTY and reiterated that the remaining indictee must be located and transferred to the Hague as soon as possible. It invited the Commission to present to the Council a proposal for a framework for negotiations with Croatia, taking full account of the experience of the fifth enlargement. It requested the Council to agree on that framework with a view to opening the accession negotiations on 17 March 2005 provided that there is full cooperation with ICTY.”