CRANS MONTANA FORUM: CRO. PRESIDENT SPEAKS ABOUT EU ENLARGEMENT

CRANS MONTANA, June 29 (Hina) - Croatian President Stjepan Mesic said on Saturday that if countries in Europe's south-east wanted to join the European Union, they had to lay firm foundations for democracy and strengthen it. #L# Mesic spoke at a panel discussion on EU enlargement and South Eastern Europe as part of Switzerland's 13th Crans Montana Forum. Croatia is attending this year's event as a guest. Officials of several ministries participated in panel discussions on EU and NATO enlargement and Croatia's potential in tourism and the power industry. Mesic said that mutual cooperation was in the interest of South Eastern Europe's countries. "Croatia has secured the principle of individual joining of the European Union, but we are aware of the need and benefits of cooperation in the region, especially to prove that we are mature enough to join the EU," said Mesic. He called on the EU to fully support the countries in South Eastern Europe in the association process. The other participants in the panel from the region, Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha, Montenegrin PM Filip Vujanovic, and Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova, also voiced the determination to join the EU, as well as the wish for the EU to help them in this. PM Saxe-Coburg Gotha said that if Bulgaria was not part of the first EU enlargement wave, it should be given the precise date of admission and financial compensation to step up the joining process. President Rugova sees Kosovo as an independent, free, and tolerant society within European integration processes. The key tasks at present are the strengthening of democracy and security and economic revival, he said. The Montenegrin premier said the Council of Europe should recognise Serbia and Montenegro as two separate partners which are in the process of building a new framework for mutual relations. This, he added, is one of the best guarantees for the protection of democratic values in Montenegro. Council of Europe Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer, who chaired the panel debate, said the EU must commit to helping South Eastern Europe in strengthening democracy and stability. The rest of Europe cannot be stable without stability in the south-east, he said. (hina) ha sb