Zagreb - A delegation of Hessian parliamentarians and state officials headed by Deputy Minister-President of the Federal State of Hessen and Minister of Justice, for Integration and Europe Mr Jörg-Uwe Hahn visited the Croatian Parliament, where they were received by Mr Josip Leko, in his capacity as Deputy Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, Mr Gordan Jandroković, Deputy Chairman of the European Integration Committee, and Mr Josip Kregar, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
At the meeting with the Deputy Speaker, Mr Jörg-Uwe Hahn underlined the large Croatian community living in the Federal State of Hessen made an important part of the German society. “I can guarantee that German policy has no doubts about Croatia’s belonging in the European Union. However, in Germany, as in all other EU countries, Croatia’s Accession Treaty has to undergo the process of ratification, which will take a certain amount of time because of the parliamentary procedure and the bicameral structure of the German Parliament”, stated Mr Hahn. Mr Leko and Hahn talked about the relations between governments and parliaments in the matters concerning European affairs in the context of the Lisbon’s Treaty. Besides changing parliamentary structures and procedures, the ways of evaluating the role and task of the legislative body will inevitably have to change, accentuated Mr Hahn. The Deputy Speaker informed the Deputy Minister President that the Sabor was in the final stage of deciding on the model regulating the relations of the parliament and the government considering European affairs. The Parliament will pass a law defining these issues in autumn.
Mr Gordan Jandroković, Deputy Chairman of the European Integration Committee, expressed his gratitude to Germany for all the support it had been giving Croatia during the accession negotiations. Talking about the financial crisis in Europe, Mr Hahn underlined that Europe had to focus more on economic growth and that some of its member states should not incur new debts but consolidate their budgets. At the meeting with Mr Jandroković it was concluded that there was room for strengthening economic ties between the two countries and that Croatia should remove administrative barriers and guarantee legal protection to potential investors.
The Chairman of the Judiciary Committee Josip Kregar underlined the importance of cultural, political and friendly relations between Croatia and Germany and expressed his certainty in the success of the two countries’ cooperation within the framework of EU institutions once Croatia became a fully-fledged member of the European Union. Mr Kregar and Mr Hahn discussed the Croatian judicial system as well as the reforms that had been implemented and that aimed at acquiring judicial independence.