Parliamentary Assembly

It is my great pleasure to have been given the opportunity, as President of the Republic of Croatia, to be your guest and to address the parliamentarians of the first political organisation to be created after the horrors of the second world war in order to preserve and promote individual freedoms, political freedom and the rule of law, the fundamental values of genuine democracy, and political pluralism. Today, fifty- one years after its foundation, we are aware that the Council of Europe is the most European political organisation on our continent. Almost all European states have become its members and thereby accepted the commitment to foster and disseminate our common values. One of the greatest examples of the noble activities of the Council of Europe was the adoption of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the fiftieth anniversary of which we will mark in November.

Let us be candid and admit that in spite of the optimism inherent in human beings, few believed that the Council of Europe would undergo such a swift transformation from a cold war institution into a forum for dialogue between the East and the West, and, eventually, into a truly pan-European organisation. We have thereby come close to fulfilling the wishes of the great British statesman, Sir Winston Churchill, who in 1946 publicly asked himself, “And why should there not be a European group which could give a sense of enlarged patriotism and common citizenship to the distracted peoples of this turbulent and mighty continent? And why should it not take its rightful place with other groupings and help to shape the onward destinies of men?”

The openness, generosity and perseverance of the Council of Europe ought to be a model for other European political organisations. In particular, I have in mind the European Union, within which there is undoubtedly awareness of the necessity to accept new members, but there are also, for economic and other reasons, those who oppose expansion to include some former socialist states on our continent. I am convinced that partial solutions, such as the admission of only some countries to the European Union, would represent a major injustice to the already long-suffering nations at the rim of western Europe. Indeed, I believe that all states which have seriously taken the road towards comprehensive Europeanisation should be given a genuine prospect of association with the European Union – a political, economic and defensive union in which small nations will have their place and be able to contribute to the common cause.

The openness, generosity and perseverance of the Council of Europe ought to be a model for other European political organisations.

Among the countries that have seriously tackled that challenging project, I can without hesitation include Croatia, whose road to fully fledged membership of the national community has been, as we are all aware, extremely hard. Let us remember Tito's Yugoslavia. As one of the six republics of the Yugoslav Federation, Croatia decided to turn its back on communist ideology and socialist self-management and to transform its society along the model of western European democracy and market economy. However, the hegemonic and nationalist forces in Belgrade opposed Croatia’s freedom-loving aspirations, and then resorted to armed aggression. At that time we already knew that its aim was not the preservation of Yugoslavia, but the creation of an “ethnically clean” greater Serbia – an insane, uncivilised and, fortunately, failed project. The war imposed by the Yugoslav national army and the Belgrade leadership, the temporary loss of one third of our national territory, the massive ethnic cleansing, the unfortunate conflict between the Croats and the Bosnians and the provision for hundreds of thousands of refugees – a huge number of casualties – have significantly slowed down the process of democratic transformation and thwarted the healthy economic transformation of Croatia. My last visit to the Council of Europe, in 1993, in my capacity as Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, reflected all of the complexity of the situation in Croatia at that time.

With major efforts, our country has nevertheless succeeded in emerging from the armed conflict as a victor. With the establishment of territorial integrity – a process which took seven years – the conditions were finally created for the liberalisation of Croatian society. Unfortunately, the former Croatian Government did not have the strength – perhaps not even the will – to promote further democratisation of society and the economic reforms so badly needed by the impoverished and long- suffering Croatian population. The parliamentary and presidential elections in January and February have shown that Croatia’s citizens are not prepared to follow a path focused on the past. Instead, they have shown that they look to the future. They have clearly expressed then- wish for a rapid implementation of urgent social and economic reforms, thereby demonstrating the vast democratic potential of the country. They have shown that they want a European Croatia – a Croatia of tolerance, human rights, prosperity and economic growth.

I feel great pride in the fact that the citizens of my country are ready to bear the burden of such a challenging and comprehensive economic and social transformation. Unfortunately, the restructuring of the economy will initially result in considerable lay-offs; later, however, it will certainly generate new jobs and a more advanced working environment. The Croatian Government is well aware of the gravity of this unrewarding and unpopular task. It is well aware that the development of a modem and efficient economy is correlated with the continued and successful democratic transformation of its country. Only prosperous societies, or those promising to become prosperous, can be a sound foundation for the strengthening of democratic order and the rule of law, as well as a barrier against political extremism.

In that regard, Croatia counts on foreign assistance – and that needs no particular emphasis. Although it does not suffer privation, Croatia will require the knowledge and the capital of foreign partners and international organisations to ensure a fast and efficient transformation of its economy. I want to use this occasion to point out that Croatia expects neither charity nor gifts, but rather direct foreign investment in its respectable natural and economic resources. The importance of such support is demonstrated by the example of western European countries whose reconstructed and mutually connected economies have made it possible to strengthen and, in some cases, to create, political systems inspired by the values of liberal democracy. It is no wonder, therefore, that Croatia expects much from the new Cards Programme of the European Union and from the mechanisms of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, in which it is playing an increasingly important role. Obviously, we are grateful to the Council of Europe's Development Bank for the approved loans to aid the recovery of the social infrastructure in war- affected areas and to support the return of people who had to leave their homes. We also hope that, as in other countries, it will play an important role in the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, and thereby at least partly help to resolve the unemployment problem.

However, the reform-focused undertakings of the new Croatian Government are not limited to the economy. Croatia’s citizens also expect social transformation. They have shown that they want to live in a community whose identity is based primarily on the will of its members to share the same destiny. The new Croatia – self- confident and full of the spirit of victory – does not fear the return of those Croatian citizens, ethnic Serbs, who left the country but who sincerely want to integrate themselves into Croatian society and share the destiny of their fellow citizens -I mean those who truly consider Croatia to be their homeland. Obviously, the transformation of our society is not a painless process and it is meeting with resistance from certain parts of the Croatian population. At present, that is most evident in the reexamination of certain events relating to the patriotic defence war, one of the constituent elements of the identity of the Republic of Croatia. However, a Croatia turned to Europe must have the strength and maturity to face the potentially negative phenomena of our positive struggle for freedom and independence. It is, of course, the task of the Croatian judiciary to investigate possible crimes and, should they be established, appropriately to punish those guilty of such crimes. Any other conduct would not comply with the principle of the rule of law and would take Croatia away from the European family embodied primarily in the Council of Europe.

The changes that have taken place in Croatia are not confined to the sphere of internal policy. The most spectacular results of which the new Croatia can be proud have been achieved in foreign policy. In Une with the principle of the rule of law, we have established comprehensive co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. We have substantially redefined our policy toward neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina and we fully respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, which implies transparent funding of the institutions of Bosnian-Herzegovinian Croats. We support the return of all refugees without discrimination: Croats and Bosnians to Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Croatian Serbs to homes they abandoned because of the defeat of Milosevic's imperialist policy. We have started to play an active and constructive role within the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe by availing ourselves of the mechanisms for financing the return of refugees and the reconstruction of war-devastated areas. Finally, I should mention our truly exemplary relations with our three north-western neighbours, Italy, Slovenia and Hungary, with whom we have recently started to co-operate within the scope of the so- called quadrilateral. The close co-operation and the degree of mutual trust that prevail are illustrated, for example, by the border regime under which citizens of those four countries can cross state frontiers on the presentation only of their identity cards, and by the agreements – highly appreciated by the international community – on the mutual protection of minority rights which Croatia has concluded with Italy and Hungary.

Like the international community at large, Croatia pays close attention to current political events in the neighbouring Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. We would like that country as soon as possible to abandon the path of nationalism and isolation and board the train of genuine democracy and tolerance, so that we can establish good neighbourly relations and thereby contribute to the stabilisation of the region. We expect from a democratised Federal Republic of Yugoslavia a constructive attitude toward the resolution of the problem of succession within the former Yugoslav federation – that is, respect of the principle whereby all successor states enjoy equal rights and obligations. That, of course, implies that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia cannot automatically inherit the place of the former Yugoslav federation in the United Nations and other international organisations, and that it has to undergo the same admission procedures as are applied to other successor states.

The new foreign policy orientation of Croatia has met with the approval of the international community, which has not waited long to reward the efforts of the Croatian Government. In late May, at the ministerial meeting of the members of the North Atlantic Council in Florence, Croatia was admitted to the Partnership for Peace, which is the antechamber of the main present-day defensive alliance. A few weeks later, the Council of Ministers of the European Union accepted the feasibility study regarding the negotiations on the agreement on stabilisation and association between Croatia and the European Union, which are to start in November. In July, Croatia signed the protocol on admission to the World Trade Organisation, thereby becoming a member of an organisation that covers almost 90% of world trade.

The most recent achievement is the decision of this Assembly, adopted two days ago, to end the monitoring process in Croatia. Allow me to take this opportunity to thank the rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Ms Maria Stoyanova and Mr Jerzy Jaskiemia, for their efforts in preparing a balanced and comprehensive report that emphasises the continuing progress in the development of democracy and the rule of law, without omitting still outstanding problems. Obviously, the success of those two rapporteurs was facilitated by the involvement of their predecessors, Ms Hanna Suchocka, Mr Gunnar Jansson and Mr Jan Figel.

Croatia regards the end of monitoring by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe as the passing of another maturity test, but we will not by any means stop strengthening our democratic order and the rule of law. On the contrary, our sleeves will remain rolled up so that we can meet as soon as possible our remaining commitments and bring our legislation into line with European standards. In that effort, we shall continue to count on the precious help of the experts of the Council of Europe. In that context, allow me to mention that Croatia has recently enacted two laws on national minorities and is preparing a third one, which, like its two predecessors, has been forwarded to the Venice Commission for opinion. All that demonstrates that Croatia is experiencing the international community as a genuine partner.

Relations with national minorities are among the best indicators of our commitment to democracy, tolerance and the principle of good neighbourly relations. National minorities must be seen as a precious element in the promotion of international co-operation, and must never be used as a pretext for territorial claims to parts of other states. Are not the lethal implications of such a way of thinking best illustrated by the recent tragic developments in the former Yugoslavia?

The international community and the international public have, I dare say, discovered a new Croatia, which, in spite of understandable difficulties, continues courageously and ambitiously to blaze its trail towards a better future. All our friends and well-intentioned sceptics can rest assured that our strong reforming drive is not flagging. Croatia remains determined, not only to implement its own democratic and economic transformation, but to influence the democratic transformation of the region, which, unfortunately, has suffered from aggressive wars, intolerance and economic regression for too long.

Dear friends, members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, I believe that I do not need to stress that Croatia continues to count on your help. Together, we can contribute to accelerating the process of stabilisation and Europeanisation of the longer suffering countries of South Eastern Europe, and heed the noble and unselfish thought of the French philosopher, Montesquieu: “If I knew that something benefited my homeland and harmed Europe, or benefited Europe and harmed humankind, I would consider it a crime.”

Thank you for your attention.