The seventh meeting of the Accession Conference with Croatia at Deputy level was held today in Brussels, following the start of negotiations on 3 October 2005. In the light of the positions of the Parties, the Conference was able to provisionally close Chapter 30 - External Relations. The chapter covers significant European policies such as EU trade policy (common commercial policy), bilateral agreements with third countries, development policy and humanitarian aid.

The negotiations on Chapter 30 - External Relations were opened on 12 October 2007 at the Accession Conference at Ministerial level. At this Conference the EU noted that, in order for the chapter to be provisionally closed, Croatia would have to provide an action plan for its remaining preparations in terms of legislation and bringing international agreements into conformity with the acquis, demonstrating that it will have the adequate administrative and control capacity to properly implement and enforce this legislation, especially in the field of export controls for dual-use items and technology, by the time of accession.

On the basis of the information provided by Croatia and the considerable progress made with preparations in all areas under this chapter, the EU noted that, at this stage, this chapter does not require further negotiations. The European Union also underlined that it would devote particular attention to monitoring all specific issues mentioned in this chapter with a view to ensuring Croatia’s administrative capacity to implement effectively the acquis in this chapter. The Union will, if necessary, return to this chapter at an appropriate moment.

Since the start of the negotiations, twenty one chapters have been opened, of which four have been provisionally closed. Further Accession Conferences will be planned, as appropriate, in order to take the process forward.

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