CROATIA MUST IMPLEMENT OBLIGATIONS TO ACCESS EU - MUNRO

( Editorial: --> 8384 ) ZAGREB, April 21 (Hina) - Compliance with obligations taken upon admission to the Council of Europe, from the Erdut Agreement on the reintegration of eastern Croatia and those from the Dayton-Paris agreements for Bosnia-Herzegovina are conditions Croatia must meet in order to access the European Union, British Ambassador to Croatia Colin Munro said in Zagreb Tuesday. The EU follows how Council of Europe member-countries comply with their commitments to that organisation and on this basis estimates how one day these countries will comply with their commitments to the Union, the British Ambassador said. Munro spoke at a conference organised by the Institute for International Relations in Zagreb. The conference centred around problems in the United Kingdom's chairing of the EU and on the EU's and Britain's relations with Croatia. The EU's special envoy in Croatia Per Vinther also attended. The EU Council of Ministers should adopt a report on Croatia in Luxembourg on April 27. The report is not positive for Croatia, Vinther said, and the situation will be re-considered in October. That may be the time to re-commence negotiations on the PHARE assistance programme, he said. According to Vinther, the doors are not closed to Croatia. The question is not "if", but "when" Croatia will be admitted, he said. Negotiations were suspended in the wake of military actions Flash and Storm, which Croatia undertook in the summer of 1995 to liberate the largest part of its territory seized by the former Yugoslav People's Army and Serb rebel units in 1991. Ambassador Munro said things had not improved sufficiently since then to alter the decisions made in 1995. The perception of Croatia has changed since the war started, he said in answer to a question. At the beginning of the tragedy Croatia was a victim, but three things happened since then, Munro said. He pointed out he was referring to the Croat-Muslim conflict in Bosnia, and everything that followed the Flash and Storm operations. The problems the international community presently saw in Croatia were the establishment of special relations between Croatia and the Croat-Muslim Federation of BH, the ambassador said. The EU does not ask of Croatia anything it does not ask other countries as well, Munro added. Such demands should not be termed as pressure, he said, believing the government must clearly tell the population that no conspiracies and pressures exist against Croatia. Other countries were also given conditions by the EU and the regional approach was used in their case as well, Munro said referring to Croatian remarks to the regional approach issue. The British Ambassador reiterated what the German and French Foreign Ministers said on their recent visit to Croatia. Zagreb holds the key to Euro-Atlantic integration. Speaking about Croatia's relations with the UK, Munro pointed out two shadows loomed in bilateral relations. These were the killing of Croats who were fleeing Yugoslavia in 1945, and Britain's role in the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. There was no anti-Croatia conspiracy in either instance, the British Ambassador pointed out. There was no conspiracy with former Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito to send people back to Yugoslavia so they could be killed by Tito's partisans in Bleiburg. The number of Ustasha and regular army members of the Independent State of Croatia (1941-1945) and civilians who were escaping with them has never been determined exactly. Estimates vary between 55,000 and 300,000. They surrendered to the Allies, but the British sent them back. There was no anti-Croatia conspiracy during the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia either, Munro said. We believed a conflict was possible as a result of the disintegration and that was why we made efforts to keep Yugoslavia together, he explained. The Ambassador stressed that ever since Croatia was recognised by both the UK and the EU, the UK and Croatia have established relations as two sovereign independent states. (hina) ha jn /mb 211652 MET apr 98