FRANCE SUPPORTS CROATIA'S EFFORTS TO JOIN EU

PARIS, June 18 (Hina) - In the current circumstances, France advocates Croatia's joining the EU as soon as possible, the speaker of the French parliament's upper house, Christian Poncelet, said after talks with Croatian President Stjepan Mesic in Paris Wednesday. #L# Mesic arrived in Paris today for a two-day visit during which he will meet senior French officials and take part in a French- Croatian economic forum. In a brief statement to reporters, Poncelet said he and Mesic had "spoken openly, as friends are supposed to do". The talks focused on the development of cooperation between the two countries' parliaments and the advancing of trade and industrial relations. According to the French official, Croatia has great potential and French companies should be encouraged to participate in its development, so the country could enter the EU as soon as possible. The head of the Senate voiced satisfaction with the great efforts Croatia was investing into making relations with its neighbours as good as possible. "We should cooperate in building a unified 'entity', a Europe in which all peoples will be brothers. The final goal is the building of a European continent," Poncelet said. This requires agreement on joint conventions, but without abandoning one's own identity, tradition and customs, Poncelet said. The Croatian president told reporters he had informed his hosts about everything Croatia had done to promote democracy, the functioning of the law-based state and its opening towards Europe. The two officials also discussed ways in which French technology and capital could assist Croatia in developing its potentials as soon as possible. "I also acquainted them with what Croatia is undertaking to strengthen its infrastructure, revive its economy and, what's most important, activate its human resources," Mesic said. (hina) lml