PARLIAMENT DEBATES PROCLAIMING ECONOMIC BELT IN ADRIATIC

ZAGREB, July 6 (Hina) - Croatian Parliament members today applauded the initiative by the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) to have Croatia's economic belt proclaimed in the Adriatic Sea, but most agreed with the government's stance that this cannot be done unilaterally. Analyses of the political and economic benefits or harm of such a move should be made previously. The MPs said the HSP initiative is a good incentive to Croatian diplomacy and the government to hold serious talks with Italy, and to initiate a discussion on the Croatian maritime system, fishing and the protection of the fishing fund. Italy has so far been expressing conviction that an economic belt should not be established in the Adriatic, and EU countries also oppose the idea, a government representative, Pavao Komadina, said during a discussion on HSP's moves to amend the Maritime Rule Book and the decision on the proclamation of the economic forum. Even the parliament's Maritime Committee, Miroslav Korenika said, holds that if a belt could affect Croatia's relations with neighbouring countries, the started processes with the EU and could lead to unnecessary tensions in sensitive talks on the sea border with Slovenia and Yugoslavia. The committee suggested that the economy belt not be proclaimed for now, and the government to be asked to draw up a detailed analysis on the true biology and fishing fund by the end of the year, as well as to make a realistic estimate as to whether Croatia has the possibility for good control and protection over the part of the Adriatic it pronounces its exclusively economic belt. On behalf of the HSP, Anto Djapic said the proclaiming of the Croatian economic belt is in the country's national interest. Croatia's territorial sea spreads on 34,000 square kilometres, and the economic belt would add another 21,000 square kilometres to Croatia, Djapic said. He asserted setting up the belt meant not only the possibility of a rational managing of the sea and living treasures, but also control over the preservation of the maritime ecosystem. By proclaiming the economic belt, Croatia would join the circle of about 100 countries who have done the same thing. The Croatian parliament will be voting on the issue when the 13th session continues next week, and a multi-party working group could be offering possible conclusions. The parliament ended this week's session with a discussion on the draft programme of the state land survey and triangulation for the period from 2001 to 2005. The draft was supported by all party benches. The draft stipulates the drawing up of a modern real-estate cadastre and the modernisation of land registers which, Environment Protection and Urban Development Minister Bozo Kovacevic said, should lead to the legal security of ownership over real-estate. The entire project should cost a little over 908 million kuna, of which 360,000 would be set aside from the government budget, and the other funds from local budgets and public companies, as well as through loans and donations. Party bench presidents stressed the suggested programme was one of the best ones discussed by this parliament. The programme needs to be passed because ownership over real-estate in Croatia has not been systematically supervised since the Austro-Hungarian rule. (hina) lml sb