COORDINATOR SPEAKS ABOUT STABILITY PACT, REGIONAL INITIATIVES

TIRANA, March 28 (Hina) - The Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe does not compete with regional initiatives, Erhard Busek, the Pact's special coordinator, said in Tirana on Thursday. #L# He called on the Central European, Adriatic-Ionian, the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, and the Southeast European Cooperation Initiatives to fully contribute to intensifying cooperation among the region's countries. In Tirana, Busek is attending a summit of Southeast Europe countries. He said the summit was very important and an attempt to tackle problems, ways of solving them, cooperation models, and the realisation of Stability Pact projects. Busek pointed to Croatia's role in said processes given the fact it will be the direct neighbour to the European Union and is a link with Europe's south-east. Croatia is a good example for the region's countries due to its past experience and problems and the progress it has achieved in democracy and economy, Busek said in a statement to Croatian reporters in Tirana. He reiterated the main objective of the Stability Pact was to have the region's countries find their place in the EU. He announced the detailed framework of the Pact's activity and the concrete distribution of tasks would be decided at a meeting in Vienna on April 23. (hina) ha