PM RACAN ANNOUNCES CHANGES IN GOVERNMENT'S WORK

ZAGREB, Oct 1 (Hina) - Prime Minister Ivica Racan is preparing a multi-layered intervention in the way the government works, and one of the decisions will be preventing ministers from sitting on supervisory committees. Racan said in a Croatian Radio talk-show on Monday he was hopeful an agreement would be signed with Deutsche Telekom in the next two- three weeks on the sale of an additional 16 percent interest in Croatian Telecom for EUR500 million. The PM hopes the budgetary revenue expected from privatisation will be realised as planned. He announced the possibility of incurring further debts, namely loans for next year's privatisation. Racan declined to comment on the election of the new dean of the University of Zagreb, Tomislav Ivancic, who is from the Roman Catholic Faculty of Theology. The PM wishes the new dean will be given a chance to prove his worth. Personally, Racan is against pessimist estimates that the election of a priest for dean is a bad precedent. Racan said he did not seek the prolongation of a parliamentary debate on a border deal between Croatia and Slovenia and the two countries' relations. He is aware there is no agreement about the deal in parliament or the necessary majority for its ratification. International arbitration is a solution in such circumstances, he said. (hina) ha sb