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PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
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DE RUEHVB #0024/01 0151444
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 151444Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8917
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000024 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/PPD, EUR/RPM AND EUR/ERA 
OSD FOR POPOVICH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ECON MASS HR SI SR MW
SUBJECT: ZAGREB WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT - JANUARY 14, 2009 
 
¶1.  (U) CROATIAN NATIONAL BANK GOVERNOR NAMED CENTRAL BANKER 
OF THE YEAR: 
Croatian National Bank (HNB) governor Zeljko Rohatinski has 
been named both the European Central Banker of 
the Year and World Central Banker of the Year by The Banker 
magazine, a publication of the Financial Times. 
The award noted the success of HNB policies since 2006 that 
restricted the increase in Croatian banks' 
foreign currency loan exposure.  COMMENT: While the HNB 
received many complaints about these restrictive 
policies, they proved prescient as the global financial 
crisis developed last fall.  Despite foreign 
ownership of almost all of Croatia's major banks, by all 
accounts the banking sector remains stable and is 
one bright spot in a difficult economic climate for the 
country. (DWestfall) 
 
¶2. (SBU) NO MEETING BETWEEN ZAGREB AND LJUBLJANA; ITALIANS 
URGE SOLUTION OF BORDER DISPUTE: 
State Secretary for Political Affairs, Bianca Matkovic, met 
with the Slovenian Ambassador to Croatia late last week to 
inform Slovania that Croatian PM Sanader would not accept 
Slovenian Premier Borut Pahor's invitation to meet one-on-one 
regarding the border dispute.  The Croatian side is insisting 
representatives of the EU should also be present at such a 
meeting.  At the same time, during his Jan. 12-13 visit to 
Croatia, Italian FM Frattini urged both sides to resolve the 
dispute quickly, and emphasized that the Czech EU presidency 
could act as a facilitator to help remove the border impasse 
from further impeding Croatia's EU bid.  A diplomat from the 
Italian Embassy told us that Frattini had quite deliberately 
chosen to note in his public comments that "bilateral issues" 
should not be dragged into EU accession negotiations.  The 
Sanader government was quick to rebut "rumors" that the 
Italian Foreign Minister had privately urged Zagreb to make 
some compromises on the dispute in order to move the issue to 
international arbitration.  Meanwhile, the bilateral border 
commission established after the Bled agreement to firm up 
the legal terms and the scope of a potential arbitration is 
set to meet again in Slovenia on January 28--its last meeting 
was in October, 2008 in Umag, Croatia. (DMeges) 
 
¶3. (U) MONTENEGRIN FM ROCEN VISITS ZAGREB: 
In a meeting on January 14, PM Sanader and FM Rocen discussed 
the common goals of the two countries regarding Euro-Atlantic 
integration.  Sanader congratulated FM Rocen on Montenegro's 
application for EU membership candidate status and for 
joining the Adriatic Charter.  Sanader also confirmed 
Croatia's willingness to share Zagreb's experience regarding 
the Euro-Atlantic integration processes.  Sanader also 
accepted an invitation to visit Montenegro soon.  Commenting 
on the work of the Croatian-Montenegrin commission in charge 
of preparing proceedings for the demarcation of the maritime 
border between the two countries before the ICJ, FM 
Jandrokovic noted that both countries wanted to solve the 
issue in a "civilized and European manner where both parties 
can be satisfied."  Jandrokovic declined to say whether he 
was thinking of the similar border dispute with Slovenia, 
which Croatia would also like to refer to the ICJ, when he 
made the comments. (PD'Amico) 
 
¶4. (U) SANADER SUGGESTS HE MAY SOON VISIT BELGRADE; CROATIAN 
AMBASSADOR BEGINS WORK IN KOSOVO: 
The press reported that PM Sanader on January 12, in a 
meeting with collation partners, reportedly said 
that he was ready to visit Belgrade again.  Sanader mentioned 
the idea while giving a readout of his call 
with President Tadic last week about the gas cutoff.  A 
possible complication for bilateral relations with 
Serbia would be the potential visit of FM Jandrokovic to 
Kosovo in the near future to hold a ceremony to 
open the Croatian Embassy.  On January 14 Croatian Ambassador 
to Kosovo Zlatko Kramaric presented his 
credentials to President Sejdiu. (PD'Amico) 
 
¶5. (U) CANADA APPROVEES NATO ACCESSION PROTOCOL: 
On January 14 the MFA reported it received notification that 
Canada has approved Croatia's NATO Accession Protocol. 
Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay discussed the step 
with the GoC on January 14 during his visit to Croatia. 
MacKay also praised Croatia for its contributions to 
peacekeeping operations, particularly ISAF.  The MFA issued a 
press release stating that Canada was the 17th country to 
approve the protocol.  (PD'Amico) 
 
¶6. (U) ICITAP PROGRAM DONATES EQUIPMENT TO CROATIAN POLICE 
FUGITIVE TASK FORCE: 
The Embassy's ICITAP police training program on January 14 
 
ZAGREB 00000024  002 OF 002 
 
 
donated a variety of equipment to the Croatian Police's new 
Fugitive Task Force.  The recent creation of this Task Force 
is a direct outcome of previous ICITAP-sponsored programs in 
cooperation with the US Marshals Service to train Croatian 
officials on fugitive tracking and apprehension and the 
management of task forces.  Equipment donated included "throw 
cameras" with remote control and monitoring capability, high 
powered optical binocular field glasses, night vision 
equipment, and a digital camera with a high-power zoom lens. 
This equipment will significantly increase the Croatian 
police's surveillance capabilities.  (VDjukic) 
 
¶7. (U) CROATIA RECEIVES ARMORED VEHICLES FOR ISAF TRAINING: 
Croatia on Jan. 7 received two High Mobility Multi-Purpose 
Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) from U.S. Army Europe.  These 
HMMWVs are leased for one year through the bilateral 
Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA), and 
provides the Croatian military with the means to train and 
familiarize their soldiers on the vehicles prior to their 
deployment to Afghanistan to establish a new OMLT in support 
of the Afghan National Army.  The vehicles were already in 
use for training of Croatian soldiers the day after their 
arrival in country.  Croatian instructors had been trained in 
Minnesota last December, under Croatia's State Partnership 
program.  Two Minnesota National Guardsmen were at the 
Croatian training sessions this week to assess the quality of 
the Croatian trainers and ensure the instruction is up to 
standard.  (CDavis) 
BRADTKE