CRO AMBASSADOR TO GERMANY ADDRESSES PANEL IN OSIJEK

OSIJEK, Mar 3 (Hina) - Croatia's Ambassador to Germany, Zoran Jasic, on Wednesday held a public panel on Germany's role in the European Union (EU) in the eastern Croatian town of Osijek. Jasic said Germany was potentially Croatia's most important economic partner given that some 400,000 Croatian citizens live there. German-Croatian relations will continue to flourish and Croatian- German associations promoting Croatian culture in Germany will play an important role in the matter, he said. The Ambassador assessed that as the presiding country of the EU, Germany first wants to regulate relations between member- countries, and only then consider new members. "Many in Europe don't know that Croatia is a Mediterranean and Central European country", and sometimes place Croatia in the "western Balkans", he said speaking about European integration. "We can escape that conception only through efficient work, by building our own identity and culture of independence," Jasic said. He added some international reports on Croatia were "superficial", while some "distort facts" to "instrumentalise (Croatia) until some contentious issues in Bosnia-Herzegovina are resolved." Croatia's future is in Euro-Atlantic integration, Jasic said, adding Croatia is not to be considered part of the Balkans because of its tradition and culture. (hina) ha