CROATIA WILL INSIST ON INDIVIDUAL APPROACH - SAYS PARLIAMENT SPEAKER

ZAGREB, Sept 12 (Hina) - Croatian parliament speaker Zlatko Tomcic said in Zagreb on Wednesday Croatia would insist on the individual approach of the European Union to countries wishing to become full EU members, the Croatian parliament media and public relations office said in a statement. Tomcic said this during talks with the head of the European Commission's Delegation to Croatia, Ambassador Per Vinther, in a comment on an initiative recently proposed by German Foreign Minister Joschka Fisher on the forming of an economic community consisting of Southeast European countries. "If such an individual approach would be applied to Croatia, the country would be more useful to the EU because it would have a more positive and stimulating influence on other countries of the region," Tomcic said. Vinther said Fisher's initiative actually only built on projects within the Stability Pact. After Croatia signs a Stabilisation and Association Agreement in October, its parliament will have to adjust the country's legislation to European standards, the statement read. The parliament speaker thanked Vinther on a very good cooperation and everything he had done for Croatia as an EC representative. Vinther said the EC would continue to financially assist reconstruction projects in Croatia over the next several years. (hina) it