EUROPEAN ECONOMIC SUMMIT BEGINS IN SALZBURG

SALZBURG, July 1 (Hina) - The European Economic Summit, at which heads of states and governments, as well as business people from central and eastern Europe will be discussing the expansion of the European Union in the next three days, opened in Salzburg Monday under the organisation of the World Economic Forum. The main subject of the summit will be European expansion, and also gathers representatives of candidate countries for entry into the EU, or those with the same pretensions. The summit gathers more than 600 representatives from 45 countries, including 10 presidents or prime ministers from central and eastern Europe. The conference is also attended by Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, Economy Minister Goranko Fizulic and president of the Croatian Privatisation Fund, Hrvoje Vojkovic. "It is a well-chosen subject and is in the focus of our interest, in the interest of countries in transition, as well as countries which are already in the EU," Mesic told reporters ahead of the start of the conference. The founder and president of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, said at the opening of the summit that for the first time the east and west met to discuss the problems of globalisation and uniting Europe. (hina) lml