MINISTER DISMISSES POSSIBILITY OF CROATIA IN BALKAN COMMUNITY

SIBENIK, Jan 23 (Hina) - The possibility of the EU insisting on equating Croatia with other Balkan states before admission may slow down Croatia's access but cannot box it into some sort of Balkan federation, European Integration Minister Nevan Mimica said on Monday. Addressing local officials, businessmen and school representatives in Sibenik about the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union, Mimica said the deal did not threaten to drag Croatia into a Balkan association and that the regional cooperation Croatia was committed to would be realised exclusively through bilateral relations. Mimica announced that Croatia, currently a potential candidate, could become an actual candidate for joining the Union by the end of 2003. Answering one of the questions, the minister agreed the increase in excise taxes on imported automobiles and the ban on the road transport of oil through Croatia were not in the spirit of the SAA. He said that his task as a minister was to warn the government it should rectify such issues. Croatia's association with the EU is supported by three thirds of Croatia's population which should make the process an all-Croat movement, Mimica said, adding this would influence every political party's stance on the process. (hina) ha sb