PACT ON STABILITY IN SOUTH-EAST EUROPE ADOPTED IN KOELN

KOELN, June 10 (Hina) - The Pact on Stability in South-East Europe was adopted by consensus at a Ministerial Conference in Koeln on Thursday. "Croatia is satisfied with the adoption of the Stability Pact in the form in which it was passed," said Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic after the end of the conference. Croatia's delegation has had a very active role in drawing up the final text of the Pact, as well as in the entire process of making the Pact since the meeting in Zagreb, later in Petersberg and finally in Koeln. The conference gathered 38 countries, 15 international organisations and financial institutions and five regional initiatives. At the opening ceremony, Germany's Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said Europe had a historic chance to ensure a lasting peace in the Balkans after the completion of the war in FR Yugoslavia (Serbia/Montenegro). In this process, the European Union should have a central role, according to him He added that the south-east of this continent was an integral part of Europe, but processes of integrating south-eastern European countries into Europe would proceed at different speed for certain countries. He called on the countries in that region to direct their initiatives toward the European Union. Fischer also warned that in case Serbs did not find a path toward democracy and a law-based state, there would be no stable peace in the region. (hina) ms