SLOVENE POLICE WARN CROATIANS STILL NEED PASSPORTS ( Editorial: --> 8033 )

( Editorial: --> 8033 ) LJUBLJANA, Nov 4 (Hina) - Croatian citizens traveling to Italy through Slovenia will still have to carry their passports. Spokesman for the Slovene Interior Ministry, Janez Muzic, told Hina on the phone on Tuesday that Slovene border police would continue to request to see the passports of Croatian citizens on border crossings between Slovenia and Italy, despite the fact that an agreement between Croatia and Italy came into effect on Monday enabling Italian and Croatian citizens to cross the Croatian or Italian border with only their identity cards. The agreement between Croatia and Slovenia on crossing borders with only an ID card has been in effect for a long time, but, according to Slovenia, it only applies to the border between the two countries. The Croatian embassy in Ljubljana is in contact with the Slovene Foreign Ministry's Consular Department in order to find a solution to the problem. (hina) lm jn 041417 MET nov 97