CROATIA DESERVES BETTER STARTING POSITION FOR JOINING EU - POSSELT

OSIJEK, June 19 (Hina) - The Croatian Paneuropean Forum entitled "Challenges of the 21st Century for Europe and the Paneuropean Union" continued on Saturday by a formal session of the assembly of Croatia's Paneuropean Union in the eastern city of Osijek. Addressing the forum, an official of the Croatian Foreign Ministry, Mladen Adrlic, expressed confidence that this event would help promote the Paneuropean idea in Croatia and facilitate Croatia's strengthening of its standing in Europe. The European Union is at a critical juncture in terms whether it would turn into a mere bureaucratically institution or orientated itself toward Christian and democratic values, said the President of the German Paneuropean Union and a member of the European Parliament, Bernd Posselt. He said the announced pact on stability in south-east Europe should be a transitional solution rather than a ghetto for states toward which some European countries are prejudiced. We should treat each country in line with its specific features. We must contribute to bids of Croatia, as a central European country, to get a better starting position for joining the EU, as it (Croatia) offers better prerequisites than certain countries in the first round for admittance into the EU full membership, Posselt added. Leaders of French, Swiss and Slovene Paneuropean Unions said it was not sufficient to have the economic unification of the European Union. They held the EU must begin carrying out a joint police in the defence and security. Earl Jakob Eltz of Vukovar said the Paneuropean Union had been established as part of attempts to oppose the aggressive nationalism and hatred, adding that the task of the EU and the Paneuropean Union is to help European peoples to become closer to each other. This event, which began yesterday, will end by a Mass in the destroyed Church of the Virgin Mary in Aljmas on Sunday. This forum taking place in Vukovar, Osijek and Aljmas has gathered over 100 participants, representatives of national Paneuropean unions, scientists and cultural workers. (hina) ms