mr president we believe that enlargement is one of the more successful aspects of eu policy provided it is carried out according to rigorous criteria and that lessons are learned from previous accessions
according to the council the conclusion of accession negotiations with croatia is within reach but we know from the commission that corruption issues and judicial reform have not yet been properly dealt with
this is very serious
our concerns are not artificial
croatia with a population of four point five million apparently suffers from nearly a million backlogged court cases with a significant number of cases connected to the abuse of property rights
media freedom is also under assault
former ministers have been charged with corruption
some might see this as evidence of action
actually it reveals the depth of a malaise that has hardly been addressed
widespread corruption among politicians and the judiciary has meant a failure to tackle organised crime directly connected to the balkan route
despite the litany of problems outlined here croatia's early accession seems a foregone conclusion
it would be a pity if the accession process became a mere formality dependent on subjective political whim completed before these fundamental problems are resolved
