CRO PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL RECEIVES WORLD BANK DELEGATION

ZAGREB, June 21 (Hina) - The chairman of the Croatian parliament's Committee for Finances and the State Budget, Djuro Njavro, and committee member Ivan Kolak on Monday received several World Bank officials on a working visit to Croatia. The World Bank's vice president for Europe and Middle Asia, Johannes Linn, pointed to the significance of improving banking and fiscal management, and the restructuring of public services, because, he said, current public expenditure could not be left at the present level. Linn also pointed to the public debt issue, the difficult access to the capital market, and the importance of more effective supervision of budgetary investment programmes. Njavro said the Croatian parliament would continue supporting the policy of macroeconomic and Croatian society stability . Priority will be given to neat state finances, restoring citizens' trust in the banking system, strengthening control in the finance sector, and fiscal adjustment for the beginning of a new investing and development cycle, Njavro said. Njavro also pointed to Croatia's interest in further strengthening its good cooperation with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. He pointed to the significance of the two institutions' loan-granting and advisory functions gained through experience with countries in transition. Present at the talks were World Bank director for Croatia Arntraud Hartmann, and the head of the World bank's office in Croatia, Sandor Sipos. (hina) ha