At a recent meeting in Paris French President Nicolas Sarkozy promised his support to Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader as soon as Croatia agrees to EU mediation under the leadership of Martti AhtisaariAt a recent meeting in Paris Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader received a clear message from French President Nicolas Sarkozy that France would lend its support to unblocking the negotiations with Croatia as soon as it consents to EU mediation under the leadership of Martti Ahtisaari, and that France would support the principle of international law in resolving the dispute with Slovenia, Nacional has learned from sources close to the foreign ministry. In effect, that means that the currently most powerful member of the EU has stood behind Croatia, which is a clear sign to Sanader that Croatia should, as is the case with France, by undertaking a new diplomatic offensive, link itself to a few more important EU member countries, Germany above all, with the aim of unblocking the negotiations.

Croatia has become France's favourite, for which there are several reasons. Firstly, Croatia grasped in time that military cooperation with France, as was the case with the US, could be the motor of overall relations between the two countries. France's military-industrial giant Thales will install communication equipment in 126 Croatian AMV armoured combat vehicles, which will be manufactured by a consortium including Duro Dakovic Special Vehicles in Slavonski Brod and Finland's Patria. And it is very likely that a Thales mortar launcher could be installed on these vehicles, as we have learned off the record from the defence ministry.

On behalf of Croatian Government, Deputy Prime Minister Damir Polancec signed, on 7 August 2008, a memorandum of agreement with France's Thales on its entry into the ownership structure of the Split-based PCE Split Company. To date this is the largest entry by a foreign military-industrial consortium into Croatia's special purpose industry, i.e. a joint venture contract. With the entry of Thales into PCE Split the state-owned company will be able to manufacture radio communication equipment for the Croatian Armed Forces and, above all, countries of the Middle East and Mediterranean basin. The contract will allow PCE to make a massive technological jump forward, to join the select company of manufacturers of top line electronic technology for military use, and to enter the global market. When speaking of the countries of the Mediterranean, where France has great influence, one should also mention the fact that the Croatian firm Adria Mar is completely overhauling Libyan coast guard and naval vessels built and equipped in French shipyards.

The return of France to the NATO command structure after decades of absence and the opening of military airbases in Arab countries has shown that France is gaining in military importance, especially as regards EU defence forces, where France has the leading role.

Last year Croatia accepted the French initiative to send EU peace forces to Chad, and deployed 15 of its elite soldiers from the Special Operations Battalion, for which the French have expressed their gratitude on several occasions, because Croatia is one of a few countries outside the EU that has deployed its troops to Chad. Something similar was done with last week's decision by Croatian Government to deploy a five Croatian officers and NCO's within the EU contingent of the Atalanta mission, the aim of which is to prevent Somali pirate attacks on merchant marine vessels in the Gulf of Aden.

One should also keep in mind that the national air carrier Croatia Airlines placed an order in mid 2008 for four new A319 aircraft from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, worth about 200 million euro. The decision to buy four new aircraft was certainly related in part to the French presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2008, i.e. to improve Croatia's position towards France, which would result in speeding up the Croatian negotiation process for EU accession by the end of 2009. The decision to buy the airplanes had to be well timed, because any such purchase also serves the achievement of key political goals, which is no news in the world.

French President Sarkozy wants to bring France back into the Balkans because France, as a result of American influence, is not well positioned with the new EU members in the east of Europe, and it is understandable that Croatia, as the leader in the Balkans, gains in importance. France has for some time now perceived Croatia as the economically and politically most stable county in the region. As a result of the French initiative to set up a Mediterranean Union, that would include the countries near France in Northern Africa such as Algeria, Morocco, Libya and others, Croatia has, as a result of the length of the Adriatic seaboard, gained strategic significance as a country that would serve as a link to French interests in Africa, as the Adriatic Sea is the closest European gate to the countries of the Middle East and Northern Africa. It is no secret that the Adriatic seaports are to become the "gates" of Europe, and to, via river-borne traffic, link the Adriatic and Danube areas for the improved transport of goods. Most important of all, Croatia supports the French initiative, which has divided Europe.

The Slovene blockade of the Croatian negotiating process with the EU has lasted for months now, and could have no end in sight judging by the latest official statements from Slovenian politicians, and it is therefore necessary for Croatia to reposition its foreign policy towards the EU, that is to say quite pragmatically pick a few of the strongest and most powerful allies that will put wind in its sails towards an expedient route to membership. France is, by all accounts, currently Croatia's most powerful European ally. Croatian Government has been conscious of this over the past few years.

Slovenia's comportment has certainly contributed to this, as France did not achieve the goals it set out for THE EU HIGH REPRESENTATIVE for the common foreign and security policy, Javier Solana, with Jean-Pierre Jouyet, state secretary for European issues at the French foreign ministryitself during its six-month presidency as a result of the Slovenian blockade, and that was to open all EU negotiating chapters with Croatia. During his official visit to Croatia on 10 April 2008, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, State Secretary for European issues at the French foreign ministry, said that it was the unanimous position that the French presidency of the European Union be the decisive phase in the process of Croatian accession to the EU.

He also said that France intended to open all of the remaining negotiation chapters with Croatia. The French have not forgiven the Slovenes the blockade of the talks, among other things because France wanted precisely during this period to present itself to Europe and the world as a powerful and decisive country that achieves the goals it sets out for itself. The French have expressed their regret to the Croatian national leadership for not fulfilling the promise, but also said that they would do all they could in the coming period to unblock Croatian accession to the EU. An alliance with France did not come overnight and is in fact the result of both nations' political, economic and military interests. We have already spoken of military-industrial and defence collaboration, but French investments into Croatia should by no means be disregarded.

In mid 2006 the French banking group Société Générale purchased the HVB Splitska Bank, valued at a billion euro. Then, in 2007, the French dairy giant Lactalis purchased the Dukat Company for a little over 2 billon kuna. France's foreign policy offensive, aimed at strengthening its influence and power since Sarkozy came to power has also had concrete consequences on the relationship with Croatia.

France is now one of the most modern countries in the world and is the real leader among European nations and by this fact alone the informal leader of the EU. Since President Sarkozy came to power on 16 May 2007 France has strongly promoted the institutional strengthening of the EU as was the chief promoter of the Lisbon Agreement, adopted on 13 December 2007 during the Portuguese presidency, but with the maximum dedication and effort on the part of France. Without the full engagement of French President Sarkozy the Lisbon Agreement would never have been adopted, and its adoption resolved the greatest institutional crisis in the EU's history, which emerged with the failure, i.e. downfall of the first EU Constitution. France is the chief proponent of the policy of expanding the EU to include Croatia.

It is a permanent member of the UN Security Council. If we consider the overall national power of France it is certainly, in terms of the balanced use of diplomatic, economic, information, technological and military instruments of national power the second nation in the world, right behind the USA. French President Sarkozy is a strong promoter of strengthening the trans-Atlantic alliance between the EU and the USA, whereby he has also strengthened the French position within NATO. At the next NATO summit France will return to its command structure, which she quit in 1966, which will, given its capacity, give it great influence on the development and transformation of overall NATO military capabilities. It is likely that one of the two NATO strategic commanders with be a French general. By its military operations and the development the EU's military capabilities, France is convincingly the leading nation within the EU, and has been so since the summit in Saint-Malo in December of 1998 when it and Great Britain laid the cornerstone of European security and defence policy. The current chairman of the EU Military Committee is the former Chief of the Defense Staff of the French Armed Forces, General Henri Bentégeat.