In seguito alla prima riunione del Comitato coordinativo dei ministri della Repubblica di Croazia e la Repubblica Italiana in base al Memorandum di cooperazione dei due Governi sottoscritto il 12 gennaio 2009, il Ministro degli Affari Esteri Frattini e il Ministro degli Affari Esteri e dell'Integrazione Europea Jandrokovic hanno firmato la seguente Dichiarazione congiunta, in lingua inglese:
In seguito alla prima riunione del Comitato coordinativo dei ministri della Repubblica di Croazia e la Repubblica Italiana in base al Memorandum di cooperazione dei due Governi sottoscritto il 12 gennaio 2009, il Ministro degli Affari Esteri Frattini e il Ministro degli Affari Esteri e dell'Integrazione Europea Jandrokovic hanno firmato la seguente Dichiarazione congiunta, in lingua inglese:
Joint Declaration
On the basis of the Memorandum on Cooperation between the Government of the Italian Republic and the Government of the Republic of Croatia signed in Zagreb on 12 January 2009, the first meeting of the Coordination Committee of Ministers was held in Rome on 1st July 2009;
The two sides held discussions and exchanged information in order to enhance political, economic and cross-border and interregional cooperation, particularly in the fields of infrastructure and transport, investments and energy, agriculture, rural development and environment, research and universities cooperation, as a step forward in promoting the creation of a Northern Adriatic Pole of Development, the cooperation in the Mediterranean area and in the perspective of the future common membership in the European Union.
The talks were held in a friendly and constructive atmosphere and in a European spirit. The Italian side reaffirmed its support to Croatia's integration in the European Union underlying that Accession Negotiations should be completed by the end of 2009 granting EU membership to Croatia by 2010. The two sides agreed that the Euro-Atlantic integration of Western Balkans is a key factor for the regional stability and they underlined the importance of further progress in the EU enlargement process in accordance with fulfilment of established accession criteria. The Eight Points Plan presented by Italy last April lists the priorities that could pave the way to reaching this goal.
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs exchanged views on the bilateral issues, including the importance of protection of minority rights and the significant role of minorities in strengthening bilateral relations. In this context, they reaffirmed the importance of the 1996 Agreement on Minority Rights and recalled the contribution that the Italian Communities give to the political and social development of Croatia, as well as to the existence and contribution of the Croatian minority in the Italian Republic. The Ministers exchanged views in the field of cultural relations. They underlined the importance to further enhance the existing framework of scientific research cooperation and to encourage cooperation between their respective universities. Concerning the regional cooperation, they agree to strengthen the cooperation in the regional fora namely Central European Initiative (CEI) and Adriatic Ionian Initiative (IAI).
The Italian Republic and the Republic of Croatia agreed as follows:
• to hold regular consultations on European and international issues of common interest;
• In the field of transport and infrastructure, to promote cooperation in developing infrastructure and services with particular attention to passenger and freight transport along railway Pan-European Corridors Vb, Vc and X, and to the development of the Highway sector (extension of the Zagreb-Split highway to Dubrovnik);
• to increase the cooperation in the port sector with particular reference to the ports of Trieste, Venezia, Ravenna, Ancona, Rijeka, Split and Zadar and major ports on inland waterways: Vukovar, Osijek, Slavonski Brod and Sisak. For this purpose, they invite the respective Ports Authorities to create a Working Group in the following months with an aim to explore forms of cooperation among the ports and any other appropriate form of synergy that will enhance the competitive potential within the Adriatic area. The Working Group shall report to the Coordinating Committee of Ministers;
• to strengthen bilateral cooperation of two sides in the field of maritime safety including the implementation of EU twinning projects. Particular emphasis shall be put on the development of the Common Adriatic Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Management System on the basis of existing Memoranda of Understanding including establishment of new routing measures and traffic separation schemes as well as further development of mandatory ships reporting system “ADRIREP”. For the implementation of the said activities a joint Working Group on Maritime Safety shall be established by the end of 2009. The group shall report to the Coordination Committee of the Ministers;
• In the field of agriculture and food industry, to strengthen bilateral cooperation, also in view of Croatia's accession to the EU, focusing in particular on rural development, veterinary cooperation, cattle-breeding and market organisation of livestock products; to support joint actions and EU twinning projects in presentation of agricultural goods and exchange of experiences in the field of scientific research;
• to strengthen institutional building cooperation in the field of rural development for the exchange of experiences and best practises by using horizontal policy tools on i) improving the competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sector; ii) improving the environment and the countryside through the cross compliance prescriptions, agro-environmental and forestry measures implementation; iii) diversification of the agricultural activities and improvement of the life quality in rural areas;
• to strengthen the cooperation on research on the following: research projects on common topics aimed at innovation on bio- energy, environment (renewal resources, new process for reducing pollution in agriculture, etc), quality and food safety (improvement of quality production, improvement of farming system in terms of efficiency, products trade, etc) according to European priorities.
• In the field of investments, to strengthen the promotion of direct investments in particular for the infrastructure and transportation sector, promotion of direct investments in production of products with higher value added, and to establish wider network and exchange of information between Croatian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency and relevant Italian Agencies and Institutions responsible for Trade and Investment Promotion. A mission headed by Vice Minister for Economic Development of the Italian Republic Adolfo Urso and an Economic Forum will take place in Croatia before the end of the year;
• In the field of energy, to establish a general coordination and exchange of information on all initiatives of mutual interest, focusing on the development of oil, gas and power infrastructure and new and renewable sources of energy;
• In the field of environment, to enhance cooperation on climate change, environmental protection, water management, waste management, including exchange of information on all initiatives of mutual interest about the fight against environmental crime, renewable energies, air quality, marine environment, sustainable development and any other area of common interest. The two parties will continue to hold regular consultations on transboundary environmental aspects and will enhance regional cooperation on the development of an Adriatic strategy, and will continue discussing upon a designation of the Adriatic as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) within IMO framework.
In the above sectors, the two Parties decided to create bilateral working groups to follow matters and to report on a regular basis to the “contact points” of the respective Ministries of Foreign Affairs. A mid-term assessment of their work will be carried in the first months of 2010. The next Coordination Committee of Ministers will be held in Zagreb in June 2010.
Rome, 1st July 2009
For the Government For the Government
of the Italian Republic of the Republic of Croatia
Franco Frattini Gordan Jandrokovic
Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration
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