BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO. 3846

HR-NEGOTIATIONS-Politika BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO. 3846 BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO. 3846HINA Zagreb 18 Dec. 2000CROATIA, EU BEGIN NEGOTIATIONSBRUSSELS, Dec 18 (Hina) - Talks on the political-security chapter of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Croatia and the European Union were the central topic at the beginning of the first round of negotiations between Croatia and the EU, which started in Brussels on Monday. According to Croatia's chief negotiator Neven Mimica, it was agreed that Croatia was not joining regional cooperation for the sake of its negotiations with the EU but because this was an important element of Croatia's foreign policy. The Stabilisation and Association Agreement defines the need for countries included in the stabilisation and association process to sign bilateral conventions on cooperation, including political dialogues, development of economic relations, including free trade zones, and cooperation in fighting illegal migrations.