PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MESIC HOLDS TALKS WITH EU AMBASSADORS

ZAGREB, Jan 27 (Hina) - Presidential candidate Stipe Mesic would like the Croatian parliament to be the body which will make all decisions, and if elected Croatia's new president, he will fully support the legislative body and the government. "I want parliament to be the place where all decisions will be made", decisions which the government will execute, Mesic told reporters after talks with European Union (EU) countries' ambassadors in Zagreb on Thursday. The talks with the foreign diplomats were Mesic's opportunity to exchange views on Croatia's rapprochement with Europe and relations with neighbouring countries and Europe, after the other presidential candidate, Drazen Budisa, did so yesterday. If elected Croatia's new president, Mesic said his interest would be to give "maximum support to the government and parliament" which won at January 3 parliamentary elections. Today's talks tackled Croatia's relations with neighbouring countries, including Bosnia-Herzegovina (BH), which is "connected to Croatia through the Croat people," Mesic told the press. "The Croat people must be fully constituent on the entire BH territory, because it is the return of displaced persons throughout BH that will enable the return of the displaced in Croatia as well." Mesic acquainted the foreign diplomats with his position that central authorities in BH should have higher jurisdiction so that BH might achieve its strategic goal, the EU. Given that Croatia has the same objective, "untied Europe will not mind who is on which side of the border," he said. Last decade's Croat-Muslim conflict in BH should not have occurred, Mesic said. He added it was time to reject "collective frustrations", but also pointed out "guilt has to be individualised." Speaking about relations with the EU, Mesic said his messages were well known, namely Croatia's opening towards Europe and Croatia's adoption of European standards and criteria. During today's talks, Mesic was particularly interested in the amount of EU assistance to debt-reprogramming and the influx of capital into Croatia. He explained he did not refer to capital intended for spending, but capital for Croatian companies. Without going into details, Mesic told reporters today's talks also touched upon the priorities Croatia must comply with. He said he was "sure Croatia will be given a quite substantial support." (hina) ha mm