Doris Pack (AFP Photo/STR)
“The European Parliament has never in its history had such a majority support for a country’s EU membership as it has in the case of Croatia,” she said.
What rock did Doris Pack climb from under, this week?
A week before the EU membership referendum Pack sent a message to the Croatian people that I interpret as follows: Oh sorry, we cancelled the Phare program on you, which excluded you from EU assistance to prepare for membership in 1995, but really it was because of Tudjman not because you were not wanted in EU.
What hogwash!
January 15, Doris Pack, a member of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) bloc at the EU parliament (also part of the parliament’s delegation for relations with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo) decided to stir the pot of the current confused climate in Croatia when it comes to EU membership. Pack worked within the EU in 1991 on the Croatian membership question, following closely the political situation and Croatian independence.
It would seem she didn’t do much for Croatia except contributed to making the life of decent Croatians who wanted EU membership then a total misery!
“EU abandoned Croatia for many years. If we had kept with the Phare program, we would have been there and we could have prevented many things from happening… It was only with the departure of Tudjman that Croatians began getting closer to Europe, although the path was very difficult and with much stricter criteria than for Romania, but I myself agree with this because there won’t be the problems we’re having with new members…” Pack said in Brussels and continued, “The European Parliament has never in its history had such a majority support for a country’s EU membership as it has in the case of Croatia. I believe that if people knew that they would vote yes at the EU referendum.”
I sincerely hope that people in Croatia saw through these words as insincere and damaging to the whole of Croatia and not just throwing mean-spirited innuendo against the late President dr. Franjo Tudjman.
Although Croatia’s acceptance among the international community by mid 1992, it still wasn’t allowed to commence accession to EU membership.
Brussels’ argument was simple: One does not negotiate with states that are partly occupied.
When in 1995 Croatia liberated the occupied areas from Serb occupation the EU pulled the Phare program from under Croatia’s feet.
Looking back at 1995, the EU cancelled its Phare program for Croatia with the excuse of drummed-up allegations that there was excessive shelling in Operation Storm when Croatia was liberating Krajina from Serb occupation. Brussels was unimpressed with the liberation of Croatia’s occupied territory, criminal accusations and allegations, based on lies and hunches, against Croatian Generals and Dr Tudjman began shooting from EU against “Croatia” like wildfire.
EU put Croatia’s membership on ice and began calling for Croatian generals to face war crimes charges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Croatians had no chance, really, at competing for EU membership while Tudjman was alive not because Tudjman or the Croatian people didn’t want that, but because the EU had erected a “no-go zone” for Croatia. The EU hunt was on to equate the victim with the aggressor. And Pack was there – doing what? Loving Croatia? Please!
The charm of membership in the European Union certainly fades in the face of those like Pack and those who have forgotten how great on her own Croatia stands.
As European Union Beckons, Allure Fades for Wary Croatia – New York Times.
In preparation for this Sunday’s referendum on Croatia’s EU membership, most polls show that between 55 and 58% of Croatians will vote in favour of membership, compared with 28-30% against. So far only one poll, presented by a coalition of organisations against membership, showed a slight majority (52%) of citizens planning to vote against it. Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb), B.A.,M.A.Ps.(Syd)