In the course of political consultations with the State Secretary for Political Affairs, Božinović, it was emphasised that relations between the two countries were traditionally very good and friendly and reinforced by a dynamic exchange of visits at a high level, intense cooperation at bilateral and multirateral level and a highly developed economic and energy cooperation. The two parties exchanged opinions on the possibility for consular cooperation between the two countries.

State Secretary Božinović informed his colleague about the cooperation of the Republic of Croatia with its neighbours. The two parties discussed the situation in the region of South East Europe with a special emphasis on Bosnia and Herzegovina and the summit which is taking place in Sarajevo. They stressed that the Euro-Atlantic perspective is the best contribution to stability and prosperity of South East Europe, which is important not only for the region but also for the entire Europe.

Secretary-General Kyrle stressed that the Republic of Croatia served as a model for all countries of the region which see their future in the European Union and he repeated that Austria strongly supported Croatia’s becoming a full member of the European Union in the nearest future. They also exchanged views on the new European diplomatic service, and on the importance of the Danube dimension and cooperation between countries within the framework of the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region.

State Secretary for European Integrations Andrej Plenković informed Secretary-General Kyrle about the current status of Croatia’s accession negotiations and about the efforts undertaken by the Republic of Croatia in order to complete negotiations by the end of the current year, as well as about the importance of continuing the envisaged dynamics until the signature of the Accession Agreement, in particular in the context of the financial package for the first two years of membership.

In relation to the referendum on accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union, State Secretary Plenković stressed the importance of the communication strategy aimed at informing the Croatian citizens about membership of the Union. Secretary-General Kyrle repeated that Austria supported Croatia on its path towards the European Union and expressed his hope that the technical part of negotiations would be soon successfully completed. They also discussed the activities of both countries in the wider region, in particular cooperation within the framework of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region.

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