CROATIAN AND AUSTRIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS RELATIONS WITH EU

ZAGREB, Nov 20 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic held talks in Zagreb on Friday with his Austrian counterpart and chairman of the European Union, Wolfgang Schussel, on Croatia's relations with the EU and overall relations in the region. After the meeting, Schussel said it was important for Croatia to be persistent in the establishment of good neighbourly relations, which includes the signing of the agreement on the use of Croatia's Ploce harbour by Bosnian citizens and the free passage through the southern Bosnian town of Neum by Croatian citizens, as well as the agreement on special relations between Croatia and the Croat- Bosniak (Moslem) Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. "It is very important for this agreement, and it has been said it will be signed tomorrow, (...) be signed," Schussel said. Asked whether the agreement on special relations and the agreement on Ploce and Neum will be signed on Saturday, Granic declined to answer. Schussel said he had told Granic that Europe hailed the programme the Croatian Government had drawn up on the return of refugees and displaced persons, but the issue at hand is "for it to be concretely and efficiently implemented". He also said more steps were necessary on the establishment of pluralist media. As regards the Croatian election law, Schussel said the recommendations by the OSCE and EU were "a good foundation for progress in the region". The OSCE and EU proposed changes to the Croatian Electoral Law which relate to a special election list for the Croat diaspora, the media coverage of the election campaign, and a multi-party control of the election process. (hina) lml/ab