THURSDAY'S SESSION OF CROATIAN DEFENCE AND NATIONAL SECURITY COUNC

COUNC $ IL ZAGREB, Dec 4 (Hina) - The Presidential Croatian Defence and National Security Council held its 23th session in Zagreb on Thursday, under the chairmanship of the President, Dr. Franjo Tudjman. The President of the Republic of Croatia, Dr. Franjo Tudjman, and the Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Dr. Mate Granic, delivered reports on the results of the conferences, held in Geneva and Rome, stated the Presidential Office on Thursday night. In that context, it was pointed out that the European Union for the first time reached unanimous conclusions in the German- French Initiative, which also includes the main elements of the Peace Initiative proposed by Croatian President Tudjman. The Croatian Council emphasized that the position of the Republic of Croatia had been much strengthened at both the Geneva and Rome conferences, and that Croatia should continue to advocate with its consistent and principal politics negotiated settlements to all problems maintaining its achieved dignity on the international scene. The Council expressed its satisfaction with the success of the Croatian delegation in Rome at the Conference of the Ministerial Council of the CSCE, at which the communiqué included the Croatian demands. This applies especially to the conclusions of the CSCE on the issue of the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian areas under control of UNPROFOR in the state and constitutional arrangements of the Republic of Croatia, as well as to the conclusion on the necessity of the mutual recognition of Croatia and Serbia as one of the basic conditions for establishing peace in this part of Europe. Discussing the present results of the stabilization programme of the Croatian Government, the Council concluded that the reached results were encouraging, but they also imposed further obligations. The already reached results of the programme and the consistent undertaking of the anti-inflation measures would be preconditions for the establishment of the Croatian convertible currency. Optimism was also raised by the readiness of the European Union to help Croatia in its restoration and by the positive evaluation of what had been already done by international bank institutions and organizations, the experts of which were observing the implementation of the stabilization programme. Their evaluations created real possibilities for signing agreements with international financial organizations. The Council considered the issue of the freedom of media in Croatia as well, and concluded that it was in conformity with the international standards. However, the formal and legal conditions of business operations on this field and the system of taxation should be improved with a purpose of normal functioning of the freedom of media and avoiding all kinds of malfeasance and illegal dealings, according to the statement of the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia on the Thursday's session of the Presidential Defence and National Security Council. 041111 MET dec 93