EUROPEAN COMMISSION TO DISCUSS REPORT ON CROATIA ON WEDNESDAY

ZAGREB, Oct 27 (Hina) - The European Commission will discuss a report on Croatia and other countries of south-eastern Europe on Wednesday, based on which it will make recommendations for the meeting of EU Council of Ministers at the beginning of November. The European Union has exercised its regional approach policy as it placed Croatia in the same group as Bosnia-Herzegovina, FR Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Albania. The formal version of the report on Croatia will become an official document only when it is adopted by the EU Council of Ministers in Brussels on November 9. The Council usually reaches its conclusions in accordance with the recommendations of the European Commission. Refuting claims that the regional approach hinders an individual country to separate from others in approaching the EU, officials of the European Commission have on several occasions states that they treat every country separately, depending on whether it was meeting the set conditions for joining European integration processes, and in that sense, no country can hinder another in its path of progress. The European Commission was scheduled to discuss the report on countries of south-eastern Europe last Wednesday, but it had been postponed due to the situation in Kosovo, according to diplomatic sources. As regards the report on Croatia, no significant changes are expected in relation to the one six months ago, a diplomatic source in Brussels said. So, it is almost certain that Croatia will have to wait at least another six months to join the PHARE programme, as the first step towards joining the European Union, according to the source. (hina) lml jn