COUNCIL OF EUROPE TALKS WITH CROATIAN MPS

( Editorial: --> 0939 ) ZAGREB, 10 Feb (Hina)- During their meeting in Zagreb on Tuesday, members of the Parliamentary committee for domestic affairs and local self-government and a delegation of the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities focused on decentralization, "dual role" of county prefects and procedure for their confirmation. The Congress' delegation, led by rapporteurs Helene Lund and Josef Leinen, have come on a three day visit to Croatia. After the visit they will draft a report on the state of the Croatian local and regional democracy, which will be presented to the 5th plenary session of the Congress in Strasbourg, between 26 and 28 May. "In his most recent speech Croatian President Franjo Tudjman mentioned the Croatian Government's plans concerning decentralization", stressed president of the multi-partisan committee Ante Dolic, adding that until now Croatia needed a centralised government due to the effects of war. Rapporteur Leinen stated that the office of a Croatian county prefect combined both state authority and the local self- government and asked members of the committee to comment on the soundness of that arrangement. Dolic responded that he was "not sure whether the arrangement is optimal" and that he would not rule out that law could be amended to accommodate objections. Representatives of the committee and the Congress's delegation, which first visited Croatia in October 1997, also discussed Croatia's cross-border cooperation, especially with Slovenia. Before the meeting with the Committee for domestic affairs and local self-government, the Congress' delegation had met the mayor of Zagreb Marina Matulovic-Dropulic, delegations of the Zagreb city council and the Zagreb county assembly and prefect of the Zagreb county Branimir Pasecky. (Hina) mm mr 102114 MET feb 98