HEAD OF ECMM VISITS CRO FOREIGN MINISTRY

ZAGREB, July 26 (Hina) - Croatian Deputy Foreign Minister Vesna Cvjetkovic-Kurelec on Wednesday received the incoming head of the European Community Monitoring Mission (ECMM), Gabriel Yves Keller, who announced a significant decrease of the monitoring mission in Croatia. According to Keller, after the reconstruction, the European Community monitoring mission will, apart from Zagreb, be active in two regional offices, namely in the central Croatian town of Knin and the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar. After the completion of France's chairmanship, the European Union has plans for the ECMM head to be appointed by EU's high representative for the joint foreign and security policy instead of his being replaced with each new presidency. By this, the ECMM, which is active in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, will become an instrument of the European Union in the implementation of goals of the joint foreign and security policy. Cvjetkovic-Kurelec reported on the current relations between Croatia and the European Union particularly after the endorsement of a feasibility study on negotiations with Croatian and the completion of guidelines for negotiations on the agreement on stabilisation and association. She welcomed activities of the ECMM which contributed to a more complete understanding of the situation in Croatia in European Union capitals and Brussels. She also reported on efforts invested by Croatia in regional cooperation and good-neighbourly relations emphasising the transparency of the policy toward Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as the support to democratic forces in Montenegro. (hina) it mm