Second meeting of EU-Croatia JCC held 5 October 2007 in Split

State Secretary Pejčinović Burić pointed out the importance of Croatia’s participation in said joint body with EESC, as well as the importance of the topics it deals with in light of the challenges the EU is currently facing. She thanked the EESC for its support for Croatia’s EU accession, stressing that Croatia’s joining the EU as its 28th member will facilitate its prosperity and development, as well as contribute to the stability of the European continent. She emphasised that the accession process is meant to contribute to the welfare of all Croatian citizens and their participation is therefore extremely important.

On that occasion, EESC President Dimitris Dimitriadis paid a visit to Croatia and met on the margins of the meeting with State Secretary Pejčinović Burić.

EESC President Dimitriadis said that by his coming to Croatia and personal participation in this meeting he wanted to point out the importance the EESC is placing on JCC, and visibly support Croatia’s process of entering the EU.

Anne-Marie Sigmund, JCC Co-Chair from the EESC side and former EESC president, presented a report on Croatia entitled “Croatia on the Road of Accession”, which supports Croatia’s entry into the EU by 2009.

The meeting discussed the condition of the accession negotiations, with a special emphasis on the situation in the entrepreneurship and the industrial policy. The members of the Committee expressed satisfaction with the progress Croatia has realised in the past couple of years, as well as the importance of civil society’s involvement in the process.

The members of the EU-Croatia Joint Consultative Committee are representatives of the EESC and Croatian civil society organisations. From the Croatian side, the Committee is co-chaired by Lidija Horvatić, head of the International Co-operation Department at the Croatian Employers’ Association.