Zagreb - The delegation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, headed by Jozef Regec, Committee Chairman, visited Sabor this week.
During their two-day visit the delegation was received by the Parliament Deputy Speaker and met with the chairmen and members of four related committees of the Croatian Parliament: Foreign Policy Committee, Domestic Policy and National Security Committee, Defence Committee and the European Integration Committee.
Deputy Speaker Milorad Batinić thanked the Czech Republic for the support it had been giving Croatia during the membership negotiations. Jozef Regec promised Croatia could continue relying on Czech support in the future and announced the Senate was expected to ratify Croatia’s EU Accession Treaty next week. Talking about Czech experiences in using EU funds, Regec recommended paying special attention to the field of education.
Agreeing that the bilateral relations between Croatia and the Czech Republic are excellent, Milorad Pupovac, Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee, and Jozef Regec discussed the possibilities of intensifying the two countries’ economic and cultural cooperation.
Miroslav Tuđman, Chairman of the Domestic Policy and National Security Committee, underlined the utility of Czech experience in the matters of its national security system as well as the benefits both countries would gain by sharing experience on security mechanisms.
Regec and the Defence Committee Chairman Tomislav Ivić talked about the participation of Croatian and Czech soldiers in peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo. Croatia and the Czech Republic are about to sign a contract regulating their cooperation in joint helicopter exercises.
Daniel Mondekar, Chairman of the European Integration Committee, underlined the greatest added value of the accession process for Croatia were the reforms that made the country more solid and would take much longer had Croatia not been striving to comply with the conditions negotiated in the process.