ECHO CONTINUES HUMANITARIAN ACTIVITIES IN CROATIA

ZAGREB, Dec 17 (Hina) - The European Commission has decided to grant DM 170 million in humanitarian aid to former Yugoslav countries, of which Croatia will receive 10.8 percent, the chief of the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) office in Zagreb said on Tuesday. Vittorio Ghidi told a news conference that despite the arrival of peace, Croatia still had substantial needs for humanitarian assistance. The European Union would concentrate its efforts in Croatia primarily on 300,000 refugees and displaced persons. Most of the aid would be provided in food and hygienic products while the rest would be used for psycho-social aid projects, he said. In the coming period special attention would be paid to the UN-administered Danube river region of eastern Croatia. Ghidi said that UN Transitional Administrator Jacques Klein had asked ECHO for assistance after which the EU approved DM 1.4 million for minor projects such as the purchase of mobile water pumps for protection against floods and the reconstruction of infrastructure. ECHO would provide meals for 9,000 children in schools in the Vukovar area, Ghidi said, adding that aid would also be directed at the return of displaced people. On Monday, ECHO decided to grant Zagreb University DM 5,000 for the renovation of classrooms designed for disabled students. (hina) vm jn 171521 MET dec 96