GERMANY WILL SUPPORT CROATIA IN ITS EFFORTS TO JOIN EU AND NATO

BERLIN, Nov 19 (Hina) - Croatia may continue to count on Germany's support in approaching the EU and NATO, the president of the German parliament's lower house, Wolfgang Thierse, said in Berlin on Tuesday after talks with Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula who is on a one-day visit to Germany. #L# "Croatia can certainly count on Germany's support. Germany will continue to maintain its interest in Croatia and will make sure that no doors close for Croatia, either those to the EU or NATO," Thierse said. He said that Germany had very positive feelings full of sympathy towards Croatia, and that the large number of Croats living in Germany contributed to this attitude. Thierse and Picula spoke about further steps of Croatia's drawing closer to Euro-Atlantic organisations, the political and economic situation in Croatia, and Zagreb's cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal. Picula told reporters he was leaving Germany encouraged not only by how much Germany knew of exactly what was happening in Croatia, but also by the promise that Zagreb would continue to have a reliable advocate of its aspirations in Berlin. Croatia will not cease to cooperate with the Hague-based tribunal because this cooperation, along with Croatia's change of policy towards Bosnia, is one of two pillars of Croatia's international credibility, Picula said. "This is why cooperation with The Hague is something Croatia is not doing because of its international obligations but for its own sake and the sake of its democratic future," the Croatian foreign minister stressed. He added he had asked Thierse that Germany advocate that in the final document of the coming European Council session in Copenhagen doors remain open for future expansion of the European Union to countries like Croatia. "Even at this time Croatia deserves to be seen as a future member of the EU, particularly due to its economic parameters," Picula said. (hina) lml sb