During the meeting the parties discussed the state of the Croatian accession negotiations for the membership in the European Union, and the dynamics of opening and closing of negotiating chapters. As regards the activities undertaken by the Republic of Croatia, Minister Jandroković stressed that Croatia is devoted to the fight against organised crime and corruption, and persistent in restructuring of the shipbuilding industry and judicial reform.
Minister Asselborn expressed the full support of Luxembourg to Croatian efforts aimed at the completion of the negotiating process by the end of 2010, and Croatian accession to full membership in the European Union as soon as possible. After extending his gratitude for the support of Luxembourg, Minister Jandroković expressed his satisfaction over the past cooperation with the Government of Luxembourg in the programmes of assistance to Central and East Europe, related to the strengthening of public administration, which also include Croatia.
During the discussion about the situation in South-East Europe, Minister Asselborn said that he was pleasantly surprised by the existence of strong political will aimed at encouraging regional cooperation, which is important, in particular on economic, political and cultural levels. The ministers emphasized the importance of the example set by Croatia to other countries in the region. This example serves as additional motivation for them to become members, based on their individual merit, of the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty in the future. In this context, both parties concluded that they were ready to help them so that they could successfully follow Croatia’s example.
In the part of talks related to bilateral economic relations, it was pointed out that there exists a large potential for improving the economic cooperation. In this respect, the parties greeted the Croatia-Luxembourg business forum held today and attended by the representatives of the economic delegation of Grand Duke Henri and Croatian companies.
Minister Jandroković invited further Luxembourgian investments in the Republic of Croatia, in particular in the tourist industry, in view of the rise in the number of tourists from Luxembourg in 2009, which was 17 % higher than in the previous year.