CROATIA SLOW IN DRAFTING GLOBAL STRATEGY - OFFICIAL SAYS

BRUSSELS, March 21 (Hina) - The programmes Croatia offers to draw European Union funds from the CARDS programme are not ripe for realisation as they are not adjusted to a global development strategy, a Croatian parliamentary official said on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters in Brussels after talks with Doris Pack, the chairwoman of the European Parliament's committee for Southeast Europe, the chairman of the Croatian parliament's foreign affairs committee, Zdravko Tomac, said the Croatian delegation was "politely told" Croatia was slow in drafting a global strategy. The ten-member Croatian parliamentary delegation on Monday held a series of talks and meetings with senior NATO officials, and visited Brugges and the local College of Europe on Tuesday, where they met Croatian students. Tomac said the delegation was told at the European Parliament that EUR65 million had been approved for Croatia in this year's CARDS programme budget. Another 65 million is envisaged for regional programmes, in which Croatia can participate and be granted some of the funds. Today's talks with Pack also tackled the situation in neighbouring Bosnia. Tomac said the Croatian delegation pointed to the outstanding importance of having all factors in Bosnia abide by the Constitution, the legislation, and the Dayton peace accords unless the accords were changed. The delegation stressed they could be changed only if all sides concerned were in agreement. (hina) ha sb