CRO. MINISTER SPEAKS AT CRANS MONTANA FORUM PANEL DISCUSSION

CRANS MONTANA, June 28 (Hina) - European Union (EU) enlargement should be an open and comprehensive process, Croatia's European Integration Minister said on Friday during a panel debate on EU enlargement to central Europe, held as part of Switzerland's 13th Crans Montana Forum. #L# In the context of the enlargement process, the Copenhagen Summit will hold great importance and responsibility, Neven Mimica said, adding that the event in the Danish capital should convey a clear message that the EU enlargement process would resume after the first round, staying open and comprehensive. Participating in the panel discussion were representatives of Bulgaria, Slovakia, Macedonia, Romania, Hungary, Italy, and Kosovo, and the vice president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz. Mimica said the countries in Europe's south-east were apprehensive the EU, concentrated on candidate countries, might somewhat neglect the ambitions of countries participating in the Stabilisation and Association Process - Croatia, Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Albania. Croatia is confident it will become a EU candidate by 2004 at the latest, Mimica said, adding that Croatia would not be exempted from but accentuate its part of the responsibility for cooperation and stability in South Eastern Europe. The time has come for the EU to establish a formal connection between the enlargement and stabilisation-association processes, Mimica said. He added, however, that the key enlargement issue was not solely or mainly the readiness of the candidates but an institutional reorganisation within the EU as well. The answer to when and how fast the EU will expand lies in the answer to the question of how the Union will carry out its internal reorganisation in order to be able to successfully function even after the admission of many new members, said the Croatian minister. The participants in the panel debate agreed the first EU enlargement round should proceed according to plan, and negotiations with the ten most successful candidates wrap up by year's end. Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Sakskoburski said 1,000 km of motorways were built annually in the EU as against a mere 100 in central and eastern Europe. He strongly supported activities within the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. President Ibrahim Rugova said Kosovo was now closer to Europe than ever and wanted to join the EU as an independent, democratic, and ethnically tolerating society. Italian Communications Minister Maurizio Gasparri reiterated the EU was willing to soon complete negotiations with the currently ten most successful candidates, but also to fully support Romania and Bulgaria in the same bids, and to open membership negotiations with Turkey as soon as possible. Gasparri said the candidates would have to gradually contribute to the Union's finances so that the financial strain did not undermine enlargement in the future. (hina) ha sb