In her opening speech, Minister Grabar-Kitarović pointed out that Croatia, because of its diversity and rich regional traditions, has good conditions for the development of recognisable indigenous products, as a category the European Union is starting to support more intensely through its rural development policy. Minister Grabar-Kitarović pointed out the production of healthy food as a segment in which Croatia can compete on the EU market. In doing so, said Minister Grabar-Kitarović, it is important to work more intensely on the protection and promotion of the indigenous products, whose success on the market will be based on their unique quality.
Minister Čobanković presented the activities the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Management is conducting in order to make the Croatian agriculture more competitive on the EU market, amongst other things the projects aimed at increasing the employment in agriculture and enhancing the income of agriculture workers. Along with the need for further activities in protecting the indigenous products, Minister Čobanković also pointed out the need for further stimulating and co-financing of other activities in rural areas, such as agrotourism and the development of renewable energy sources.
The Forum afterwards saw a series of presentations on the topics such as the development of rural space, marketing preparation of agricultural products, development of agrotourism, marks of authenticity, geographical origin, and traditional reputation of food, legal frameworks for the protection of indigenous products, and the registration of authenticity, geographical origin, and traditional reputation in the Republic of Croatia.
Representative of the EC Delegation to Croatia Constantino Longares Barrio used the example of Spain, which is in its agricultural structure a lot like Croatia, to illustrate how the production and promotion of indigenous products can lead to the opening of new job opportunities and enhancement of the national economy’s competitiveness of the EU market.
The presentations were followed by a dialogue between the participants – representatives of the producers of indigenous products, state and local government and self-government, academic community, economic institutions, and other individuals and groups interested in the subject matter. The participants agreed that the future should see more intensive activities in the general development of rural space, enhancement of education and informing of the producers and consumers of indigenous products, stimulation of the export of indigenous products, stimulation of the Croatian producers to register their products indigenous and work on their promotion and sale. In all of the said measures, sad in his closing speech Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Management Srećko Selanac, the state should participate by ensuring the system of support, while the initiative should come from the producers themselves. Assistant Minister Selanac concluded that indigenous products are not just a question of healthy food and market competitiveness, but also a question of protecting the tradition, as well as the local and national identity.
The National Forum on EU Accession is an initiative launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration with the aim of raising the level of informedness of the Croatian public about Croatia’s EU accession process and sparking a public debate on said in all parts of the Croatian society.