Minister Jandroković opened International Conference “Croatia and the EU – What Does Membership Bring?”

In his speech, Minister Jandroković stressed the importance of holding the Conference at the time of marking the third anniversary of opening Croatia’s EU accession negotiations. He said Croatia is determined to close the negotiations by 2009, pointing out it has a strong support by the current French presidency and a firm prop in the next two – Czech and Swedish.

Minister Jandroković expressed satisfaction with the encouraging messages from the recent meetings with highest UE officials in Brussels, as well as with the positive signals coming from the European Parliament. He pointed out that the most recent European Commission’s Progress Report on Croatia and the receiving of an indicative timeframe for the completion of the negotiations are reasons for optimism. He added that as early as start-2009 Croatia plans to begin drawing up the Agreement on Croatia’s Accession to the European Unions.

Emphasizing the Croatian Government’s orientation towards the EU membership as a logical continuation of the country’s political, economic, and social development, Minister Jandroković said that for Croatia, joining the EU means also a clear dedication to a better life for its citizens. He added that the EU membership is the best guarantee for investing continuous effort in better possibilities of education and training, improving employment conditions, and raising the overall quality of life, labour, and social security of our citizens. He concluded that the EU membership is also closely tied to Croatia’s global role and the capability of successfully answering to the growing challenges of globalisation.

The conference will also see as main speakers State Secretary for European Integration Davor Božinović and Deputy Director-General of European Commission’s Enlargement Directorate-General Jan Truszczynski.