CROATIA NEGATIVELY AFFECTED BY KOSOVO CRISIS -- IMF

WASHINGTON, April 20 (Hina) - Croatia, as other countries neighbouring with Yugoslavia, will suffer negative consequences on the Kosovo crisis when it comes to traffic, foreign investors' fears and mostly tourism, experts of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) assessed in a study Outlooks of Global Economy presented in Washington on Tuesday. Because of this, the IMF and the World Bank, with the cooperation of other international organisations and bilateral donors, are estimating monetary bonus needs of Balkan countries, IMF's research department director, Michael Mussa, said. The consequences of the situation in Kosovo on the gross domestic product and financial system in the European Union and the United States will be negligible. The most difficult situation is already in the poorest countries -- Albania and Macedonia. Other countries bordering with Yugoslavia will feel lesser consequences. As countries in transition, these countries were already faced with a number of economic difficulties: a careful monetary and fiscal policy and a decrease in public expenditure. When it comes to Croatia, the IMF is interested only in the state of the budget, but also the business of funds, the sustainability of the currency and balance of payments, as well as in the consolidation of the banking system. (hina) lml