GERMANY WILL HELP CROATIA IN GETTING CLOSER TO EU - KINKEL

( Editorial: --> 5914 ) STUTTGART, 20 Jan (Hina) - Germany will help Croatia in getting closer to the European Union, German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said in Stuttgart Tuesday, following his meeting with Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic. Kinkel and Granic attended the symposium "Croatia in Europe", which was organised by the German concern Daimler-Benz. Addressing reporters after the meeting, Kinkel said he would help Croatia in "the matter of Europe". "When it comes to that, Croatia can count on me as it could before," Kinkel said. Granic described Croatian-German political and economic relations as good, stressing that Germany would "strongly support Croatia's integration into Europe". The German foreign minister commended the successful completion of the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube River region, and Croatia promised to continue the process of peaceful reintegration by establishing trust and the rule of law in the region, Granic said. Kinkel said Germany expected Croatia's help in solving the problem of refugees. Speaking at the symposium, he asked Croatia to facilitate the return of Croatian Serbs from the Bosnian Serb entity so that Bosnian Moslem and Croat refugees, currently living in Germany, could return to their homes in Republika Srpska. Granic told reporters he had cleared that question with Kinkel. He said he believed that the return of Croatian Serbs to Croatia was not a precondition for the return of refugees from Germany. According to Granic, there were between 30,000 and 40,000 Croatian Serbs in Republika Srpska and only 3,000 to 3,500 of them really wanted to return to Croatia. In solving this question one should take into consideration the fact that between 20,000 and 25,000 Bosnian Croat refugees from Republika Srpska currently lived in areas to which Croatian Serbs could return, Granic said. "It is clear that Croatia's priority is to care for these people since the international community cares for them least," Granic said. (hina) jn rm 201847 MET jan 98