KOSOVO CRISIS CAUSES US522 MILLION DAMAGE TO CRO ECONOMY

ZAGREB, June 8 (Hina) - The damage the Kosovo crisis has caused to Croatia's economy amounts to US$522 million, Croatian Reconstruction and Development Bank (HBOR) officials said on Tuesday. By the end of this year, the damage could reach US$1.53 billion, the president of the HBOR management, Anton Kovacev, told a news conference, held at the end of a two-day conference of development banks of south-east European countries. The conference, hosted by the HBOR, discussed effects the Kosovo crisis has had on the economies of south-east European countries and offered possible solutions to the problem. Participating in the event were representatives of the World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Commission, Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau, development banks from Albania, Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Italy, Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia and Croatia. One can conclude, said Kovacev, that losses caused by the Kosovo crisis are too extensive for the economies of countries directly or indirectly affected by the crisis. Those losses include the cancellation of the already agreed contracts in industry, tourism and trade, the lack of new contracts, and obstacles to import and export. The meeting said assistance in covering the damage was expected from the international community, west-European banks and other institutions through loan programmes of development banks. Participants in the conference suggested that a conference of countries willing to grant funds for countries affected by the Kosovo crisis be organised. EC representatives proposed the establishment of an agency which would organise and conduct assistance programmes and supervise the allocation of funds through concrete projects. (hina) rml