GRANIC AND VAN DEN BROEK MEET IN BRUSSELS

BRUSSELS, March 10 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic today met in Brussels with European Commission foreign affairs commissioner Hans van den Broek, the Croatian permanent mission to the European Union said in a statement. The talks focused on the peace process in Croatia, the situation in occupied areas, particularly in the light of the termination of the UN Protection Force mandate, and a new model for the presence of international forces to prevent the resumption of hostilities, control the borders and supervise the process of the peaceful reintegration of occupied areas. Van den Broek expressed satisfaction with the progress of negotiations, emphasizing the role of the European Union in the process. He stressed that the results of an agreement would enable Croatia to soon join the PHARE program and begin talks on the agreement on trade and cooperation with the EU. Van den Broek welcomed all efforts at accelerating the implementation of the Washington accords in pursuit of a peaceful settlement in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The meeting was also attended by the Croatian ambassador to the EU, Zoran Jasic. (hina) mm vm 101528 MET mar 95