ZAGREB, July 13 (Hina) - Croatia's President Stjepan Mesic on Thursday held a news briefing to give a summary of what has been done in five months since he took office and to comment on the latest political and ecopnomic developments
in Croatia and its surroundings. Concerning the results of his work since he was inaugurated, Mesic said he had held many meetings with other statesmen and paid official visits to other countries, during which he had initiated several projects such as a plan for the construction of an Adriatic-Ionian motorway, proposals to render the Danube navigable again, and the completion of the building of the Breznicki Hum-Gorican motorway. At President Mesic's proposal, working groups have been set up for elaborating amendments to the Constitution, for drafting a strategy for agricultural development, for envisaging the progress in the areas of the special stat
ZAGREB, July 13 (Hina) - Croatia's President Stjepan Mesic on
Thursday held a news briefing to give a summary of what has been done
in five months since he took office and to comment on the latest
political and ecopnomic developments in Croatia and its
surroundings.
Concerning the results of his work since he was inaugurated, Mesic
said he had held many meetings with other statesmen and paid
official visits to other countries, during which he had initiated
several projects such as a plan for the construction of an Adriatic-
Ionian motorway, proposals to render the Danube navigable again,
and the completion of the building of the Breznicki Hum-Gorican
motorway.
At President Mesic's proposal, working groups have been set up for
elaborating amendments to the Constitution, for drafting a
strategy for agricultural development, for envisaging the progress
in the areas of the special state concern and for the development of
information technology in the country.
Croatia is on the right track towards an exit from isolation, the
country is orientated towards the EU and has become the driving
force in this region, President Mesic told reporters.
He described the political situation in the country as relatively
good and the economic circumstance as relatively bad.
Asked whether Croatian citizens lived worse than before, President
Mesic admitted that they did. He, however, explained that much
could not be done in a short period, but as much as possible was
done. It is necessary to activate Croatian resources and attract
foreign investments to this effect as well as to help Croatia
undergo the entire process of Europesation, the Croatian head of
state added.
Asked to comment on the developments caused by the conflict between
the two strongest ruling parties - SDP (Social Democratic Party)
and HSLS (Croatian Social Liberal Party) - about the staff and
persons who may take office in the Government, President Mesic said
the Government had been constituted in compliance with results
political parties achieved at the parliamentary election. The
Government is a team that has been given support for its programme
and it should now implement that programme. The Government is no
confederation of parties or political party leaders and the boss of
ministers is Prime Minister rather than a party's President, Mesic
said in that context.
In relation to the latest developments about Croatia's failure to
sign a contract with a U.S. company, Enron, within a deadline, Mesic
stressed that politics should be excluded in attempts to make such
arrangements and the chief criterion should be economic in such
jobs.
Asked about French President Chirac's initiative for convening a
summit between EU member-states and western Balkan countries,
Mesic responded the event was being organised by the European Union
and Zagreb would motion that a list of country participants be
broadened. In this way Croatia would like to contribute to better
understanding and bids to resolve problems in its surroundings,
Mesic said and energetically refused any possibility of re-
creation of a Yugoslavia.
Commenting on the latest events in Montenegro and Serbia (which
make up formally the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, or FRY), Mesic
said Montenegro had opted for a path towards democratisation while
the incumbent Yugoslav President was always generating conflict
and therefore he should be removed from the political scenes. The
international community reacted belatedly to Milosevic's policy of
in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and even in Kosovo, but it
must not be late to respond to his war plans in Montenegro, Mesic
said.
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