CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ENDS VISIT TO BRUSSELS

BRUSSELS, July 2 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic on Tuesday afternoon concluded his one-day working visit to Brussels with talks with Belgian Foreign Minister Erik Derycke. After the one-hour talks the two foreign ministers held a press conference. Derycke said the talks focused particularly on the issue of the Croatian Danubian area and its reintegration in the constitutional order of Croatia, as well as on the implementation of the Dayton peace agreement in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the removal of war crime suspects Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic from power. Talks also focused on the development of bilateral relations, such as investments of Belgian companies into Croatian economy, the revocation of double taxation and visas for Croatian citizens traveling to Belgium. Granic said he and Derycke also discussed the normalization of relations between Croatia and Belgrade, the inclusion of Croatia into Euro-Atlantic integrations and a global-regional approach. As regards the reintegration of the Croatian Danubian area, Granic expressed Croatia's gratitude to the Belgian battalion commanded by General Jozef Schoups successfully supervising the implementation of the Erdut agreement in the area, and added that he and Derycke also discussed details of a future process of reintegration, return of displaced persons and the re-establishing of all elements of Croatian authority in the Croatian Danubian area. Granic said Croatia was ready for the normalization of relations with Belgrade, but without preconditions, and added that Croatia had proposed a bilateral agreement on the protection of ethnic minorities, to be worked out in collaboration with the Council of Europe, but stressed that Croatia was not ready for any three-way exchange of territories. Granic also said that Belgium was willing to give the green light to the revocation of visas to Croatian citizens traveling to Belgium, but added that additional coordination with the Netherlands and Luxembourg were necessary. He hopes the process will soon end successfully. Granic said he and his Belgian counterpart also talked on agreements on social insurance, the prevention of double taxation, the protection of investments, economic, cultural and scientific cooperation and others. Answering a journalistic question as regarded the coincidence of his Monday talks with the aide to Yugoslav Foreign Minister, Zivadin Jovanovic, and his Tuesday talks with Granic, Derycke said that only the date of the two visits was accidental. "The visits of the two sides, both equally interested in the Croatian Danubian area, were not picked accidentally", Derycke said, adding that Belgium wanted to play the role of mediator. For this purpose, a special ambassador was chosen, because, as Derycke said, it was in Belgian nature to solve the problem it had undertaken to the end. In the afternoon Granic also met with West European Union Secretary General, Jose Cutileiro, to whom he outlined Croatia's stance as regarded the peace process in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danubian area, the inclusion of Croatia into European integrations and regional cooperation. (hina) ha 022004 MET jul 96