CROATIA JOINS HUNGARY-ITALY-SLOVENIA TRILATERAL GROUP - EXTENDED

GOEDOELLOE, Sept 13 (Hina) - The prime ministers of Hungary, Italy, and Slovenia unanimously decided on Wednesday that as of today, Croatia was joining the trilateral group of countries, thus turning it into a quadrilateral form of regional cooperation. The decision was made at a meeting in the small Hungarian town of Goedoelloe. The four prime ministers ratified their decision with a joint statement welcoming Croatia's admission into the trilateral group and stressing the need to strengthen cooperation in fighting crime and illegal migrations, and to advance transport infrastructure, economic cooperation, and protection of minorities. Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia confirm in the statement that joining the European Union is their principal political goal. Speaking at a joint news conference after the meeting, Croatia's Prime Minister Ivica Racan said he was satisfied with the decision, adding it was a good example of the regional cooperation supported by Croatia. "Croatia has a lot to gain from Italy's experience as a European Union and NATO member, as well as from Hungary and Slovenia, which are a step ahead of us in integrating with Euro-Atlantic institutions. After ten years of stagnation, Croatia is quickening its step, and our partners' experience will do us good in the quadrilateral. We will support Hungary and Slovenia in joining the European Union as soon as possible, because it is in Croatia's interest as well," the Croatian prime minister said. At today's meeting, Racan suggested developing cooperation in two fields which are important for all four countries, namely tourism and fighting illegal migrations. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban told reporters "Croatia is finally taking the place it deserves in Central Europe, but also within wider Euro-integration processes." Orban said the importance of cooperation within the quadrilateral lay in the four countries' stabilising role in the region. He was hopeful it would not take long for the quadrilateral to turn into a form of cooperation within the European Union. Hungary's prime minister said the participants of today's meeting agreed the army chiefs of staff of the four countries should meet in Budapest shortly. He added work would resume on projects in connection with the fifth European highway corridor, connecting Trieste, Ljubljana, and Budapest, with branches to Rijeka and Ploce, and that efforts would also be made to intensify cultural cooperation. Orban said the prime ministers had evaluated it was necessary to step up Slovenia's access to NATO, and agreed that joining the European Union had to be done on individual basis. Croatia's joining of the trilateral was welcomed by the prime ministers of Slovenia and Italy, Andrej Bajuk and Giuliano Amato. Today's meeting in Goedoelloe also addressed the situation in Southeast Europe, especially in view of impending elections in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Asked whether cooperation within the quadrilateral could affect the FRY elections, Italy's Prime Minister Amato said he did not expect a direct effect on the course of events in FRY, but that it would be good if FRY's Republic of Serbia took note of democratisation in neighbouring countries and their regional cooperation. Croatia's Racan, asked about an upcoming Croatia-United States joint military exercise and its possible effect on the situation in FRY, reminded Croatia was a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace, which he said entailed certain obligations. It is important to know that the objectives of the exercise "are not aggressive, but perhaps only warnings," he said. (hina) ha jn