Addressing the Committee members, Drobnjak stressed that Croatia is ready to share the knowledge and experience it has gained in EU accession negotiations with Serbia and the countries in the region. He briefed them in detail on the basic elements and specificities of Croatia’s negotiations in the past nine years, warning that it would be a big challenge for Serbia as well. He particularly stressed that the fact that their negotiating team remained unchanged from the very beginning was especially important and that it had continuity based on the consensus of all the political parties at the Croatian Parliament (Sabor). Emphasising the significance of parliamentary support, Drobnjak deemed the establishment of the National Committee and the adoption of the Rulebook containing clearly delineated negotiating rules of key importance. Croatia’s experiences will certainly be of help to Serbia, but, he believes, the Montenegrin experience could be especially significant considering that they had started the negotiations with the most demanding chapters – 23 and 24 which Croatia opened later on and which proved to be a poor choice.

Assistant Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Hrvoje Marusic also took part in the meeting, stressing that Serbia’s progress toward the EU is in Croatia’s interest and underlining Croatia’s readiness to further assist Serbia on its way to Europe. In the process, Serbia needs to establish an open and proactive relationship with the European Commission and European Parliament, as well as the national parliaments of EU member states where direct contacts among parliamentarians should play a special role, concluded Marusic.

Taking part in the meeting, Committee members Vladimir Ilic, Dubravka Filipovski, Mladen Grujic, Laszlo Varga, Vera Paunovic and Suzana Spasojevic highlighted the important role of the parliament in the negotiating process declaring that Croatia’s experience would prove invaluable for the MPs.