Minister Gordan Jandroković participated on Monday, 29 June 2009, in the 19th Conference of the Working Community of Danube Regions and the Danube Forum held in Linz, the topic of which was “Sustainably Shaping the Future of the Danube Region”

Minister Jandroković emphasised the importance of cooperation within the framework of regional initiatives on account of the high level of their interconnection and exposure to global trends. He said that it was vital to establish efficient cooperation among the countries in the Danube region and international structures, in order to achieve stronger economic development.

He also said that the Danube region was exceptionally dynamic and one of the most important traffic routes in Europe, and in the process of development of harmonised navigation systems in Europe, the Danube undoubtedly had an important role and offered great prospects. The role of the Danube, being one of the longest European navigable waterways, is also important as a means for connecting people, said Minister Jandroković adding that Croatia was situated at the crossroads of many important routes. Croatia is a Mediterranean, maritime state that is at the same time oriented towards the rivers Danube and Sava. Croatia appreciates the advantages and the importance of the development of a fully integrated, multimodal system of transport, and it is aware of the extent to which cooperation in transport is closely related to economic cooperation. The Danube Region offers significant potential for economic cooperation, and it is important to achieve sustainable development based on this type of cooperation so as to ensure a long-term progress of the countries in the Danube region, and a high level of environmental protection.

Minister Jandroković pointed out that the Danube strategy should evince the specific circumstances and requirements of the countries in the Danube basin, which called for commitment and efforts of all the countries in the Danube region as well as of the EU institutions, various organisations and initiatives. He stressed that Croatia fully supported the idea of improving navigability of the Danube, and that he believed that in this way the region would become a strong economic and trading area.

The Minister presented to the participants in the conference the Inland Waterways Transport Development Strategy of the Republic of Croatia for the period 2008 – 2018, and the Mid-term Inland Waterways and Inland Ports Development Plan of the Republic of Croatia for the period 2009 – 2016.

Conference of the Working Community of Danube Regions and the Danube Forum 2009 on the topic entitled “Sustainably Shaping the Future of the Danube Region” is held in the organisation of the Government of the Province of Upper Austria. This year, Upper Austria has presidency of the Working Community of the Danube Regions and its capital Linz is this year’s European Capital of Culture.

Member Countries of the Working Community of Danube Regions expressed their support to the Republic of Croatia in accession to the European Union.