ZAGREB, Feb 29 (Hina) - The mandate of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission to Croatia will most probably be protracted until the end of the year, as president of the Croatian National Parliament
Zlatko Tomcic announced Tuesday the OSCE and Croatia were trying to do. In a statement to the press following a meeting with OSCE Mission chief Bernard Poncet Tuesday, Tomcic said he had "expressed wish and hope that an agreement on the extension of the mission until the end of the year between the OSCE and Croatian Government could be reached." "This is a dual effort to extend the OSCE's mandate until the end of the year, as we have assessed that the role of the OSCE Mission is useful in this phase of changes in the Republic of Croatia," he stressed. Representatives of the OSCE Mission which has been present in Croatia for three and a half years, have been advocating
ZAGREB, Feb 29 (Hina) - The mandate of the Organisation for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission to Croatia will most
probably be protracted until the end of the year, as president of
the Croatian National Parliament Zlatko Tomcic announced Tuesday
the OSCE and Croatia were trying to do.
In a statement to the press following a meeting with OSCE Mission
chief Bernard Poncet Tuesday, Tomcic said he had "expressed wish
and hope that an agreement on the extension of the mission until the
end of the year between the OSCE and Croatian Government could be
reached."
"This is a dual effort to extend the OSCE's mandate until the end of
the year, as we have assessed that the role of the OSCE Mission is
useful in this phase of changes in the Republic of Croatia," he
stressed.
Representatives of the OSCE Mission which has been present in
Croatia for three and a half years, have been advocating an
extention of the mandate, but the problem lay in the former Croatian
Government which had requested that the mandate of such a Mission be
terminated, that the number of its members be drastically reduced
and that fields and priorities of its actions in Croatia be changed,
as voiced by former Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa during last
November's OSCE summit in Istanbul.
Poncet described talks with Tomcic as very interesting and fertile,
as they discussed all issues important to the OSCE.
I have a feeling that there is an excellent atmosphere in the new
Croatian Parliament and I am convinced we will in the future very
closely cooperate with the Parliament, Poncet told reporters.
Tomcic also expressed satisfaction with the talks, saying he had
acquainted Poncet with activities in the Parliament in the
legislative area, "in the field in which the OSCE, as an
organisation, is also interested".
"Everything we are doing in the legislative sense is not to grant
anyone's wishes, including the OSCE's, but so that Croatia could
truly fulfil its international commitments and thus reposition its
role in the international community as soon as possible," Tomcic
said.
(hina) lml mm