EU To Offer Aid to Five Eastern European Countries

Leaders from the European Union (EU) and five eastern European countries met Friday in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, and proposed aid to five eastern European countries, a meeting statement said.

The statement said the EU would offer 4.65 billion euros (US$3.96 billion) to Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Albania during the years 2000-2006 to promote political, economical and structural reforms.

In the statement, the EU appealed to the five countries to cooperate on political dialogue, a free trade zone, strengthening cooperation in justice, fighting against organized crime, money-laundering and illegal immigration.

The EU will link the development of its relations with the countries through the process of reform and the cooperation between them, the statement said.

The leaders from 15 members of the EU, five eastern European countries, and the president of the EU Commission, Romano Prodi, attended the meeting.






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