ITALIAN UNION HOLDS EMERGENCY SESSION OVER FINANCIAL POLICE DECISI

DECISI $ ON BUJE, Apr 12 (Hina) - The presidents of all local branches of the Italian Union held an emergency session in Buje on Friday to discuss a recent Financial Police decision to inflict pecuniary penalties on the Italian Union and the Rijeka-based Novi List newspaper for the evasion of customs duties on a rotary press imported from Italy. "We condemn this act as a serious attempt to undermine the very existence of the Italian national community," the Union said in a statement, which has been forwarded to the governments of Croatia, Slovenia and Italy. "The imposition of such penalties is in contravention to the Mikolic-Gorija agreement to which Croatia is a successor," the statement said, pointing out that this move could "jeopardise Croatia's admission to the Council of Europe." (hina) as 122238 MET apr 96