Date : 23/11/2000
BLAIR TO MEET NEW YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT
LONDON, NOV 23 (KUNA) -- BRITISH PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR WAS TONIGHT
FLYING TO THE BALKANS FOR HIS FIRST FULL MEETING WITH NEW YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT
VOJISLAV KOSTUNICA, DOWNING STREET CONFIRMED THURSDAY.
BLAIR WAS PLANNING TO ATTEND TOMORROW'S EU-BALKANS SUMMIT IN ZAGREB,
CROATIA, WHERE MOVES TO SPEND ABOUT 2.4 BILLION POUNDS IN EU AID FOR THE
REGION WILL BE DISCUSSED.
IT WILL ALSO BE THE FIRST OCCASION WHEN ALL HEADS OF EU GOVERNMENTS WILL MET
THE LEADERS OF BALKAN STATES SINCE THE BREAK-UP OF THE OLD FEDERAL REPUBLIC
OF YUGOSLAVIA.
SEVERAL BALKAN STATES WANT TO BECOME EU MEMBERS, HOPING TO JOIN THE LARGEST
SINGLE MARKET IN EUROPE.
BLAIR DID MEET KOSTUNICA BRIEFLY AT AN EU SUMMIT IN BIARRITZ, FRANCE, AFTER
HIS ELECTION, BUT THIS WILL BE THEIR FIRST FULL DISCUSSIONS, A DOWNING
STREET SPOKESMAN SAID.
HE ADDED THAT THE SUMMIT WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT MARKED A NEW STAGE IN THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EU AND THE WESTERN BALKAN COUNTRIES.
THE SPOKESMAN SAID THE SUMMIT ALSO MARKED THE BEGINNING OF NEGOTIATIONS
BETWEEN THE EU AND CROATIA ON THE STABILISATION PROCESS FOR THE COUNTRY.
BLAIR WILL BE ACCOMPANIED ON HIS BRITISH ROYAL AIR FORCE FLIGHT TONIGHT BY
HIS IRISH COUNTERPART BERTIE AHERN.
THE DOWNING STREET SPOKESMAN SAID BLAIR AND AHERN WOULD NORMALLY TALK IN THE
MARGINS OF SUCH SUMMITS, BUT AS THERE MIGHT BE LITTLE TIME FOR THAT ON THIS
OCCASION IT MADE SENSE FOR AHERN AND THE BRITISH LEADER TO HOLD TALKS ON THE
PLANE. (END)
HE.MAB
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