I am delighted to follow the noble Earl, who I am tempted to call “my noble friend”. We had a discussion as to whether we should sit on the same side of the Committee. Indeed, we form a troika with the noble Lord, Lord Grenfell, in this respect. Again, I do not expect any answer to the questions I raise at this point. Perhaps the Minister will consider them and will be able to give some answer at the next stage of proceedings.
Croatia is, as the noble Earl said, the last entry into the EU, as it will be on 1 July, under the old rules. As we know, the new rules will be far tighter—particularly, as the noble Earl has said, in respect of the rule of law. There have been bilateral problems in respect of Croatia from Slovenia, in that Slovenia first drove a hard bargain in respect of Piran and, latterly, in respect of the bank. I understand that Croatia has given a firm, if not bankable, pledge that it will not use the fact of its entry as a means of creating problems for other countries in the western Balkans.
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In terms of its regional responsibilities, Croatia is also to be complimented on passing to all other relevant countries the acquis, which it has translated, since the language is essentially the same in Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia. This is a major matter, although I understand that a large part of the material that it produced actually relates to defunct, expired elements of the acquis and is not relevant.
The most important point, which perhaps the Minister can briefly come back to when we next convene, is how to deal with the matter of regional integration. We know that after Croatia’s entry to the EU on 1 July, there is likely to be a substantial hiatus. It is possible that, depending on the result of its vote, Iceland will enter the European Union in about 2015. Thereafter, the earliest possible date—and the target date for Montenegro—is 2020.
All the instruments of the European Union must be used to keep the remaining countries of the western Balkans in play, to ensure that there is not a greater divide. For example, I understand that Bosnia will lose out in terms of trade in several respects. The particular trade matters that are relevant include the sale of river fish and animal skins. So we have to ensure that there is no further divide over that period as a result of the Croatian entry.
Finally, there are clearly other regional implications, although it is now agreed that there will not be a bloc entry and the European Union accepts that there is differentiation. Montenegro has a particular advantage because it already uses the euro and there are no bilateral problems. It will be very important, therefore, that those countries that have recently gone through the process of joining, particularly those in the region such as Slovenia and Croatia itself, help the remaining countries of the western Balkans. It is in their interests. It is surely in our interests.
My very final point is that it would be helpful if, next time, the Minister could give some indication of how we will use our experience of helping Croatia in its own six-year preparation for entry on 1 July in terms of twinning and technical help for the neighbouring countries in the western Balkans in preparing for their hoped-for entry. The key point is this: the troika and all of us will surely give a very warm blessing to Croatia on its progress to full entry in July.