EU enlargement chief Olli Rehn has told Croatia to follow EU prospects strictly in order to get EU membership. Rehn said that Croatia’s fishing row with Italy and Slovenia could slow the Balkan country’s membership talks with the European Union. He warned the Croatian authority to settle the matter as soon as possible or it will unfortunately cause serious delays in the European Union accession process of Croatia. Rehn hold long meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and detailed him about the serous consequences if fishing row is not solved urgently.
Rehn stressed that the issue is very serious upon which depends the EU membership of the Balkan country. He voiced confidence that an agreement in the EU spirit can be found soon. The fishing started when Croatia decided to enforce a fishing and ecological zone on January 1, despite opposition from EU members Italy and Slovenia.
In 2003 Croatia’s parliament first proclaimed the 23,800 square kilometer zone is aimed at protecting Adriatic Sea fishing stocks, which Zagreb says are being depleted by Italy’s large fleet of trawlers. Italy and Slovenia have since proclaimed their owb ecological zones.
