RESTITUTION OF SEIZED PROPERTY IMPORTANT FOR ACCESS TO EU - VINTHER

ZAGREB, Dec 4 (Hina) - A two-day international round table on the protection of ownership has begun in Zagreb on Monday under the auspices of Croatian President Stipe Mesic and with financial assistance from the European Commission (EC). Resolving the issue of seized property is something all countries in transition will have to address in negotiations with the European Union on the completion of a stabilisation and association agreement, the head of EC's delegation in Croatia, Per Vinther, said in his opening address. The round table has gathered representatives of non-governmental organisations from Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia, and Serbia, who should tackle the economic, legal, and international aspects of ownership transformation of public property, denationalisation, privatisation, and other ownership-related issues. They are expected to offer possible solutions within European integration processes. Debates will refer to all transition countries covered by the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, with special emphasis on the restitution of property to citizens of countries established after the break-up of the former Yugoslav federation. Representatives of one of the organisers, SUVLAH, an alliance of associations for the protection and advancement of ownership and ownership rights in Croatia, objected to the fact that nobody from the government was attending. They said the lack of success they had encountered in the past 11 years was due to an absence of political will. (hina) ha