Word: croatia
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Germany prods E.C. to act on Croatia...
Only a week after the Maastricht summit, hailed as a major step toward E.C. unity, the Twelve found themselves deeply divided over whether to recognize the independence of the breakaway republics of Slovenia and Croatia in the face of continuing attacks by the Serb-dominated national army. On the eve of an E.C. foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, the Germans were in a distinct minority in their push for recognition -- a move they said would deter further Serbian assaults. By the next day, in an unexpected show of diplomatic muscle, Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher had cajoled and bullied...
...would recognize the two republics as of Jan. 15, but only if they pledged to respect human and minority rights, demonstrated a willingness to settle border questions and other disputes peacefully, and guaranteed a democratic government. The Germans immediately undermined the decision, however, by declaring their intention to recognize < Croatia and Slovenia even before the E.C. makes a determination on whether the conditions have been...
Rarely since the end of World War II has a foreign policy issue had such an emotional impact on the German government and public as the crisis in Yugoslavia. One explanation for the strong German support of Croatia is that German unification in 1990 flowed from the very self-determination that Slovenes and Croats are now attempting to exercise. Another is that Germany has a built-in lobby in nearly 500,000 Croats living in the country. Millions of German tourists, moreover, have long enjoyed the Croatian coast as a kind of central European Riviera...
Backed halfheartedly by Belgium and Denmark, Germany argued for recognition of the two republics as quickly as possible, suggesting that international acceptance of Croatia's frontiers would deflect the Serbian drive to annex more Croatian territory on the pretext of protecting Serb minorities. But opponents in Britain, France, Holland and, from the sidelines, the U.S. and the United Nations countered that recognition might only provoke the Serbs into expanding the civil war by deploying the national army into Bosnia- Herzegovina to "protect" the Serb minority there. That in turn could cause the conflict to spread to Macedonia, possibly involving Greece...