MEMBERS OF CROATIAN, MACEDONIAN, ALBANIAN PARL. COMMITTEES MEET IN SKOPLJE

SKOPLJE, June 19 (Hina) - Members of parliamentary committees on foreign affairs from Macedonia, Croatia and Albania met in Skoplje on Wednesday to discuss the countries' integration into Euro- Atlantic associations. The meeting was also attended by the US and NATO ambassadors to Macedonia, Lawrence Butler and Nicholas Burns. #L# Zdravko Tomac, Croatian parliament vice-president and chairman of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, said it was realistic to expect the three countries would join NATO by 2006, with which the US ambassador agreed. In the meantime, the countries will organise joint lobbying activities and cooperate in the process of drawing closer to Euro-Atlantic associations. Tomac said a meeting focusing on concrete measures which should help achieve those goals would be held at the highest parliamentary level in a month's time, probably in Dubrovnik. A letter was forwarded from the Skoplje meeting for the upcoming EU summit in Salonika, in which the countries voice hope that participants in the summit will state clearly that the region belongs in the EU, as well as say when each of the countries will be ready for admission and when the EU will start implementing its new policy of assistance to aspirants. (hina) rml