During their conversation, the two parties expressed their satisfaction with good bilateral relations between the two countries both at the political, and at the economic level.

State Secretary Plenković reported about the current status of accession negotiations and efforts invested by Croatia to complete negotiations by the end of 2010, and informed about further dynamics until the signature of the Accession Treaty. Director General de Jong repeated that the Netherlands supported the European Union enlargement policy, as well as Croatian accession negotiations and its European Union membership.

State Secretary Božinović commented on good relations between the two countries and thanked for the support provided by the Netherlands through pre-accession assistance programmes aimed at satisfying the membership criteria. He described in detail the situation in the region to his colleague.

Director General de Jong said that the European Union enlargement policy was supported by a large number of the Dutch people, that it was natural for Croatia to become its member, and he stressed the key role of Croatia as a model for other countries in the region.

At the Faculty of Political Science in Zagreb, Director General Jong and State Secretary Plenković participated in a public debate on “Communicating Europe”. The debate focused on how to explain to citizens, in the final stage of the negotiation process, the importance and advantages of accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union. They also presented a brochure “Kingdom of Netherlands and the Republic of Croatia together on the European path”:

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