Croatian Ambassador to Kosovo: Croatia entered the EU after prosecuting war crimes, co-operating with The Hague

So said Croatia's ambassador to Kosovo, Marija Kapitanovic, in marking her state's independence.

Croatian Ambassador to Kosovo Marija Kapitanovic spoke of the trip to Croatia's <x1ndwrest” towards the European Union (BE) at a holiday ceremony for marking Croatia's 26th anniversary of independence from Yugoslavia.

The festival Croatia's Embassy in Kosovo decided to celebrate the day before the real date of the independence note, as a result of the world championship game Croatia has with Iceland tonight.

The ambassador cited the fact that Croatia this year also marks the fifth anniversary of EU membership and the difficult European reforms its state had to do to achieve that membership. Including prosecution of war crimes cases and co-operation with The Hague's Tribunal.

In a few days, exactly on July 1st of this year, Croatia will mark the 5th anniversary of membership in the European Union. It is known that Croatia is the newest member of the EU, and our membership occurred in the major financial crisis, and a first year of membership Croatia also faced refugee crisis and at the same time humanitarian crisis. As for European reforms, we all had criteria that were difficult for our states. In Croatia's case, the most difficult criterion was the prosecution of war crimes cases and full co-operation with The Hague Tribunal, which was not easy. Another extremely difficult criterion was the restructuring of shipping companies that evidently affected the country's economic scene. It was a situation when many people had to look for another job. So different European states had to go through various difficulties to meet the” criteria, she said.

Croatia's ambassador stated that relations between Kosovo and Croatia are long-term, friendly and with a permanent partnership.

She also said the 10th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries is being celebrated on this day.

“Croatia is celebrating the idea of the state forming it by marking a celebration of its independence. This year we also mark the 10th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations, like many other states, with independent Kosovo, more precisely in the next few days. Relations between our two states are long-term, friendly and with a permanent partnership. The contacts between our two societies are ongoing, and we meet people every day with special emotions for and for Croatia. People who have studied in Croatia -- a large part in Zagreb -- and have managed to become a productive part of European society give particular importance to our relationship. Our wish is to maintain this close relationship between Croatian society when it comes to European relations”, she said.

Kapitanovic disclosed how embassys this year had supported the project of a group of students named “Museu of broken relations”.

The contacts between our societies show how much we have in common but also the differences we have. Those differences made us think and confront and encourage each other and advance different aspects of our society so we need to open the doors and build economic relations. This year, the Embassy was particularly committed to supporting the project of a group of students, but I would also say enthusiasts like that of “Museu of broken relations” Such content made us even closer and appreciate the shared experiences we have”, she said.

To celebrate Croatia's independence anniversary was Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj and some of the government ministers, as well as other political life personalities in the country.

Also, representatives from various foreign embassies in Kosovo attended the anniversary of Croatia's independence, where US Ambassador Great Britain Italy, Germany and Turkey were seen there.