CROATIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER ENDS VISIT TO SWITZERLAND

BERN, Oct 2 (Hina) - European countries have created a certain atmosphere in favour of the establishment of a South-East European association and the Croatian diplomacy will have to work more towards Croatia being assessed independently on its path to the European Union, Croatian parliament speaker Zlatko Tomcic said in Bern on Tuesday. Tomcic gave this statement to Hina after talks with Swiss Foreign Minister Joseph Deiss, which concluded the official part of a two- day official visit of the Croatian parliamentary delegation to Switzerland. It is obvious that ideas, presented over the past several months, have helped create a certain atmosphere against which we will have to use all our diplomatic and other skills, Tomcic said. "We will have to make great efforts to see Croatia assessed on an individual basis on its path towards European integration, without its joining European integration being conditioned on its entering new customs, economic or other associations in Southeastern Europe," Tomcic said. Economic and political cooperation with countries in the region is acceptable in principle, he said. "Croatia, however, is against making such relations official. Mister Deiss entirely shares this view," Tomcic stressed. (hina) it sb