[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 118 (Monday, July 23, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1589]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1589]]


    PRIME MINISTER IVO SANADER WORKS TO BRING CROATIA INTO NATO AND 
                             EUROPEAN UNION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 23, 2007

  Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I would like to call the attention of my 
colleagues in the Congress to the excellent work of the Croatian Prime 
Minister, His Excellency Dr. Ivo Sanader. Under his leadership Croatia 
has made important strides in the important task of integrating Croatia 
with NATO and in preparing Croatia for full membership in the European 
Union.
  Dr. Sanader became the head of the Croatian government in December 
2003 when his political party, the Croatian Democratic Union Party 
(HDZ), was victorious in the country's election on November 23, 2003.
  Prime Minister Sanader has had a distinguished record of government 
service that has prepared him well to assume the position of Prime 
Minister. Following his election to parliament in 1992, shortly after 
Croatia became a fully independent country, he was appointed Minister 
of Science and Technology--a position he held until January 1993 when 
he was appointed Deputy Foreign Minister. In this capacity, he 
participated in the bilateral talks that led to the establishment of 
the Croat-Muslim Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH). At the 
end of November 1995, following the Dayton Peace Accords, Dr. Sanader 
left the cabinet to become chief of staff to then-President Franjo 
Tudjman. From 1996 to 2000, he again served as Deputy Minister for 
Foreign Affairs. In 1998 he was elected president of the HDZ, which he 
worked to strengthen, modernize and reform into a pro-European, center-
right political party.
  Madam Speaker, Dr. Sanader's main foreign policy priority has been 
Croatia's accession to NATO and the European Union. I applaud his 
efforts to ensure that his country becomes an active participant in 
these critically important international institutions that have done 
much to provide a framework for intra-European and trans-Atlantic 
cooperation.
  In October 2001, the Government of Croatia signed a Stabilisation and 
Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU making the country an official 
candidate for membership. Since becoming Prime Minister, Dr. Sanader 
has taken important steps to prepare for EU membership. Under his 
leadership Croatia has seen healthy economic growth of some 4 per-cent 
anually, and there have been important reforms in the country's 
judicial system and the system of land registry. He has been willing to 
take tough decisions to move Croatia forward.
  The Prime Minister has also steered his country toward NATO accession 
following Croatia's admission to the Membership Action Plan (MAP) in 
May 2002, which signified the institutionalization of relations with 
NATO and formally launched the accession process. It is expected that 
Croatia will receive a formal invitation to become a full member of the 
Alliance at the NATO Summit in Bucharest next summer.
  Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister's efforts to foster trans-Atlantic 
dialogue were on display in early July at the important 2007 Croatian 
Summit on ``Europe's New South'', which he convened in the beautiful 
Adriatic city of Dubrovnik. An impressive group of political leaders 
from across Europe joined Dr. Sanader to discuss how South East Europe 
can fully integrate into the Euro-Atlantic community, focusing on 
pressing security interests as well as NATO and EU expansion.
  Madam Speaker, in conclusion, I wish to commend Prime Minister Ivo 
Sanader for his role in moving Croatia from a past of divisive 
nationalism to a future of economic and political progress through 
active and responsible international cooperation.

                          ____________________