EUROPEAN COMMISSION RESPONDS TO VJESNIK ARTICLE

ZAGREB, Sept 25 (Hina) - The office of the European Commission's special envoy to Croatia issued a statement on Thursday in response to a front-page article published in today's edition of the Zagreb- based daily Vjesnik under the headline: "EU grants HHO 840,000 kuna for new accusations against Croatia." The statement said that "the Croatian Helsinki Committee (HHO) has submitted an application to the EU for a grant to strengthen its human rights monitoring and assistance to vulnerable persons in former "Krajina" and Podunavlje region. "The European Commission in Brussels in presently considering this application. A decision on the grant may be expected by the late autumn. "It is a misinformation on the part of Vjesnik to give the impression that the money would be spent on investigation of war crimes committed in the formerly occupied areas of Croatia. "Activities under the requested grant would mainly address the present human rights situation in the areas and the creation of conditions for return with special emphasis on enhancing the return of Serb refugees from the other former sectors. "This would carry the additional benefit of enabling Croat refugees to return to their homes in Eastern Slavonia. "Vjesnik is ill informed when it deplores that the EU appears to have joined the campaign of pressure against Croatia in connection with future cooperation with the International War Crimes Tribunal. "The fact is that the EU - in line with the rest of the international community - has all along made Croatian cooperation with ICTY an explicit condition for the development of future political and economic relations between the Republic of Croatia and the EU." (hina) vm mm 252043 MET sep 97