MEETING OF CROATIAN, ALBANIAN, MACEDONIAN REPS BEARS WITNESS TO STRONGER PARTNERSHIP ON WAY TO NATO - OFFICIAL

ZAGREB, May 3 (Hina) - The chairman of the Croatian Parliament's Foreign Policy Committee, Neven Jurica, said that Monday's meeting of delegations from Croatia, Macedonia and Albania bore witness to the strengthening of partnership and solidarity among the three countries on their way to Euro-Atlantic associations, as well as the need to evaluate each country according to its own achievements.#L# The trilateral meeting of parliamentary delegations from Croatia, Albania and Macedonia, with US Ambassador to Croatia Ralph Frank in attendance, was organised to promote the parliamentary dimension of the US-Adriatic Charter, Jurica said. "The meeting has shown a higher level of partnership and alliance among the three countries on their way to Euro-Atlantic associations." "We have expressed a wish for the three countries to be mentioned in the final document of NATO's summit in Istanbul, but individually, considering the progress they have made in implementing reforms... a speedy integration into NATO will contribute to consolidating the situation in the entire region," Jurica said. NATO recently issued a favourable annual progress report for Croatia, which was positively assessed at the meeting, he added. Every step which the three governments take together and individually will bring them closer to NATO, Ambassador Frank said. NATO's progress report points to some areas in which Croatia needs to invest more efforts and those in which it will be assisted by the United States, Frank said. On 2 May 2003 the foreign ministers of Croatia, Albania, Macedonia and the United States signed in Tirana the US-Adriatic Charter formalising US support for Croatia, Macedonia and Albania on their way to NATO. (Hina) rml