BALKAN UNION NOT PREREQUISITE FOR JOINING EU

ZAGREB, Sept 14 (Hina) - A Balkan union is not a prerequisite for joining the European Union, German Foreign Minister's political adviser for the south-eastern Europe Michael Schaefer said Friday in Zagreb, explaining the intent of the non-paper plan German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer put forward last weekend. The plan does not apply to Croatia, but only considers the question of what should happen in western Balkans after the application of the Macedonian peace treaty and the Kosovo elections, he stated after meeting with the Croatian Foreign Ministry officials. The plan was an incentive for the countries interested in such a possibility to speed up the joining process, Schaefer added. "The European Union does not want to create a new structure, or abandon its present strategy, but help in the process of those countries' joining the EU." The non-paper plan Fischer put forward at the EU foreign ministers conference in Genval, Belgium, calls for the countries of the region to take the initiative, and not the international community. Croatia is one of those countries, which, even though it is not directly involved in either the Kosovo or the Macedonian crisis, will be influenced by its outcome. (hina) js