A delegation of the Croatian Sabor (Parliament), in official visit to the National Assembly and headed by Neven Mimica, Sabor Deputy Speaker, met today with Janko Veselinovic, President, and the members of the Serbian-Croatian Friendship Group at the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia.

Serbian-Croatian Friendship Group President Janko Veselinovic and Sabor Deputy Speaker Neven Mimica, also European Integration Committee Chairman and President of the Serbian-Croatian Friendship Group at the Croatian Sabor, agreed that the visit of the Serbian-Croatian Friendship Group delegation to the Croatian Sabor in February of this year, as well as the topics opened by the two friendship groups, contributed to the renewal and intensification of the two countries’ cooperation both on the level of the parliaments and their working bodies, and on the level of parliament speakers and presidents and prime ministers. They agreed that since February, the relations between Serbia and Croatia have experiences several positive developments and expressed belief that the upward trend would continue in the future. Both parliaments’ friendship groups were credited with creating the appropriate atmosphere and prompting the executive authorities to further cooperation, which is a good example of successful parliamentary diplomacy.

The members of the Friendship Group and Croatian parliamentary delegation exchanged opinions on the friendship groups’ potential contribution to strengthening the two countries’ bilateral relations, as well as assisting competent institutions in resolving the open questions. They also discussed the specific issues parliamentarians can initiate so as to solve their citizens’ problems, such as the improvement of the position of ethnic minorities, implementation of the Succession Agreement and realisation of civil rights before national courts. They exchanged opinions on the European Union accession process and the conditions that future EU member countries must meet, and the Croatian parliamentary delegation reaffirmed that it is ready to assist Serbia on the road to the European Union. They also discussed the judicial reform in Serbia and Croatia, the recent elections for ethnic minorities’ national councils and the position of the Croatian ethnic minority in Serbia, as well as the intensification of economic cooperation and the position of the Serbian and Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The officials agreed that the Serbia-Croatia Friendship Groups’ shared task is to contribute to change the perception and direction of the communication between the two nations.

In addition to President Janko Veselinovic, the delegation of the Serbian-Croatian Friendship Group of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia also comprised National Assembly Deputy Speakers Judita Popovic and Nikola Novakovic, as well as deputies Natasa Micic, Maja Lausevic, Radovan Radovanovic and Petar Kuntic, while, in addition to Neven Mimica, Sabor Deputy Speaker, European Integration Committee Chairman and President of the Serbian-Croatian Friendship Group at the Croatian Sabor, the Croatian parliamentary delegation also comprised Frano Matusic, Foreign Policy Committee Chairman and Head of the Croatian Sabor’s delegation to the PACE, Tonino Picula, Foreign Policy Committee member and Head of the Croatian Sabor’s delegation to the OSCE PA, Vesna Pusic, Chairperson of the National Committee for Monitoring Accession Negotiations between Croatia and the EU and Milorad Pupovac, European Integration Committee member, Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee Chairman and member of the Republic of Croatia-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee.