PARLIAMENT'S FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE ON REGIONAL COOPERATION

ZAGREB, March 11 (Hina) - Regional cooperation, the basic principle of the European Union, was discussed at a session of the Croatian parliament foreign affairs committee during a discussion on regional cooperation on Monday. The European Union considers cooperation the key to the stabilisation of a region with conflicts, assistant foreign minister Vladimir Matek said at the session. It is in Croatia's interest, Matek said, to intensify regional cooperation in order to gain access to markets in which it can compete. Trust can be established by exchanging information, the assistant minister said. Croatia's regional cooperation is based on central European, Mediterranean and south-eastern European cooperation, Matek said. Croatia cooperates with its neighbours on several levels. It has signed bilateral agreements, and joined a series of multilateral initiatives, such as the Central European Initiative, the Stability Pact and the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative. At a closed part of the session, the committee was scheduled to discuss concrete forms of regional cooperation between Croatia and its neighbours. The results of the meeting are expected today or tomorrow at the latest. (hina) it sb