State Secretary for European Integration Marija Pejcinovic Buric participated 23 October 2006 at the European Commission Representation to Austria, Vienna, in a panel discussion Croatia on the Way to the EU, held as a part of the presentation of the publication of the Institute for the Danubian Space and Central Europe entitled Austria-Croatia: Friends in a United Europe.
State Secretary for European Integration Marija Pejcinovic Buric participated 23 October 2006 at the European Commission Representation to Austria, Vienna, in a panel discussion Croatia on the Way to the EU, held as a part of the presentation of the publication of the Institute for the Danubian Space and Central Europe entitled Austria-Croatia: Friends in a United Europe.
The presentation was organised by the Croatian Embassy to Austria, European Commission Representation, Institute for the Danubian Space and Central Europe, and Austrian-Croatian Society. Austria-Croatia: Friends in a United Europe contains articles by numerous dignitaries from the political, financial, and economic life of Austria and Croatia dedicated to the Austrian-Croatian friendship and Austria's support for Croatia on its way to a full EU membership.
In her opening speech, State Secretary Pejcinovic Buric pointed out that Austria-Croatia: Friends in a United Europe is but another evidence of the very good and friendly relations between the two countries, and thanked Austria for the constant support it is offering Croatia, especially as regards its full EU membership. She presented the progress of the negotiations between Croatia and the EU, stating that the reforms Croatia is conducting are not only a precondition for is long-term stability and prosperity, but also an investment in the future of Croatia as a modern democratic country. In that regard, she pointed out that Croatia's goal is to conduct quality negotiations that can be ended within the expected period, stated that Croatia has proven it is a capable and responsible candidate that can achieve a lot in a relatively short time period. State Secretary Pejcinovic Buric stressed that Croatia has begun with the preparation and the conducting of reforms even before its gaining the candidate status, based on the transferred experience of other candidate and member countries, and thanked them for it. She stated that the political parties, as Croatia's national priority, have reached a consensus on its acceding to the EU, pointing out that the Croatian Parliament is directly involved in the negotiations process through the activities of its National Committee for Monitoring the EU Negotiations. She presented the structure of the Croatian negotiations team and expressed satisfaction with the completed phase of the screening process, b which Croatia has once again proven its dedication to meeting the full EU membership criteria. As for regional co-operation, State Secretary Pejcinovic Buric said that Croatia is taking active part in numerous regional political and economic initiatives, illustrating it with Croatia's current SEECP presidency. She noted the success Croatia has achieved so far in using the EU pre-accession funds and, as the former National Co-ordinator for Assistance Programs and EU Co-operation, said she is proud of the numerous quality projects and high usage level of the means, adding that Croatia owes part of its success to the assistance by the colleagues and experts from the EU members.
In their speeches, the Austrian participants commended the publishing of Austria-Croatia: Friends in a United Europe as yet another form of mutual co-operation and an excellent way of presenting Croatia in Austria. They stated the continuation of the support for Croatia on its way to a full EU membership.
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