CROATIAN-ITALIAN CONTRACT ON OPTANTS' PROPERTY READY

ROME, Nov 8 (Hina) - The issue of the property of Italians who left Istria (so-called optants) after WWII is a closed case, the Italian daily Piccolo reports Thursday in an article titled "The Italian- Croatian Contract Ready". The abandoned property is a concluded issue. For good. This topic is now becoming a national issue. In negotiations on a friendship, cooperation and partnership agreement with Croatia, Italy accepted to give Zagreb bank coordinates for the payment of US$35 million Croatia is to pay in compensation for the property of Italian refugees, Piccolo reports. Slovenia has already paid a Luxembourg bank its share of the debt, taken over in line with the 1983 Rome Accords between Italy and the then Yugoslavia. Piccolo also reports Croatia will start paying its share as of January 1, 2002, while Italy will indemnify the refugees. Another issue mentioned during the Italian-Croatian negotiations regards property denationalisation in Croatia. Italy asked that Italian nationals not be excluded from the denationalisation process. The two sides reached a consensus at the Rome talks that this issue be regulated by the Stabilisation and Association Agreement Croatia signed with the European Union on October 29. (hina) np