CROATIA WILL BECOME EU TEMPUS PROGRAMME USER IN 2000 - SAYS ENVOY

ZAGREB, Nov 29 (Hina) - The Croatian government's Office for European Integration and the European Training Foundation (ETF) on Monday organised in a Zagreb a day-long conference on expert training in Croatia and the experiences in this field of other countries in transition. The ETF is a European Union (EU) agency which supports the reform of expert training in countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Independent States Union, and Mongolia. The ETF was established in 1995 and so far the EU has invested in it between EUR60 million and 70 million. The ETF ensures technical assistance for the implementation of EU's Tempus programmes in the reform of expert higher education and training. Asked when the European Commission might launch Tempus in Croatia given the current state of Croatia-EU relations, EU special envoy to Croatia Per Vinther said it could occur in the first half of next year. He said he expected Croatia would become a Tempus programme user in the school year 2000/2001. The Tempus programme is financed within the PHARE programme, which remains frozen to Croatia. The EU conditions its unfreezing on the elimination of political obstacles which it believes hamper closer Croatia-EU relations. (hina) ha mm