New Croatian law delays sanctions threat

Date: 21/05/1998

By Mark Turner

THE European Commission has warned that it will not be satisfied with a new Croatian law aimed at facilitating the return of refugees until it sees practical results.

But it appears that Zagreb has temporarily escaped the threat of EU sanctions. "The law may be important in itself, but what happens on the ground is much more important," said a Commission official. "We will now wait a couple of weeks to see how things go."

The Zagreb parliament last week adopted a document which, it claims, answers international concerns about the slow return of thousands of Croatian Serbs who fled during the Yugoslav War.

The measures theoretically make it easier for ex-Croatian citizens to obtain the official documents required by returnees, even if they have no current identity cards. They stipulate, for example, that driving licences or marriage certificates are acceptable as proof of identity.

"This paper has been changed in the direction of the wishes of the European Union," said Croatia's EU ambassador Janko Dobrinovic-Vranyczany.

As yet it is unclear whether the move will answer growing outrage over the severe problems faced by returnees to the country.

Croatia has had to abandon plans for a donors' conference because of international displeasure, and faced scathing criticism at a refugee return conference in Banja Luka last month.

As with so many Balkan issues, the problem does not end in Croatia. The former Yugoslavia is like a giant puzzle board with limited room for manoeuvre: until refugees from one region return, displaced people elsewhere are also prevented from moving back.

The Croatian refugees are consequently blocking a long and complex chain of population movements in the region. This has prompted calls for the EU to pressurise Croatia by denying it 'autonomous trade preferences', as it did the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) last year.

EU foreign ministers were due to discuss possible retaliation in Brussels next Monday (25 May), but insiders suggest Zagreb's latest gesture should stave off any sanctions for a few weeks. But Croatia is under no illusions that the threat has been permanently lifted. "We will be watched closely to see how these measures work," admitted Dobrinovic-Vranyczany.