Croatian Foreign Minister Visiting European Parliament

Croatia's Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, is making a two-day visit to the European Parliament (EP), focused on Zagreb's EU membership bid. On Monday (29 August), she met with EP member Pal Schmitt, who chairs the EU-Croatia Joint Parliamentary Committee. Grabar-Kitarovic discussed implementation of the government's action plan to locate and arrest fugitive general Ante Gotovina, a stumbling block to accession talks for months now.

A new poll suggests growing pessimism among Croatian citizens about prospects for EU talks. According to a survey published Tuesday, only 12 per cent of the respondents believe Croatia would open negotiations with the EU this year; 54 per cent said entry talks would not begin this year and 34 per cent had no opinion.