SPEAKER, PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION RETURN FROM LITHUANIA, LATVIA

ZAGREB, March 1 (Hina) - Speaker Zlatko Tomcic on Thursday returned to Zagreb at the head of a parliamentary delegation from a four-day visit to Lithuania and Latvia, where he held talks with senior local officials. "This was an extremely successful visit because we encountered a genuinely friendly atmosphere in both countries, which are somewhat ahead of us in rapprochement with the EU and NATO. Their practical experience can facilitate our (access)," Tomcic told reporters at Zagreb's Pleso airport. He said Croatia and the two Baltic countries shared a series of similarities, including size and population, the state of the economy, the gaining of independence, and many common traits in the future, for instance the concept of access to the European Union and NATO. Tomcic reiterated his opinion that Croatia should replace its current Ministry for European Integration with a special office at the government, following Latvia's and Lithuania's model, as a more efficient model. "I make this estimate based on what those two countries have done in the last two years, and they have done a lot, so there is no reason not to compare their model with ours, and if we draw the conclusion that it is better, I see no reason why dissolving the ministry would be heretical," said the parliamentary speaker. (hina) ha