The second meeting of the Joint Croatia-Flanders Commission was held 17 and 18 April in Fužine and Delnice, chaired by Assistant Minister for European Affairs Hrvoje Marušić and Secretary General of the Flemish Department of Foreign Affairs Koen Verlaeckt.
Participating in the work of the commission were five working groups from various departments, with an emphasis on economy and entrepreneurship, regional development and EU funds, public administration, public health, youth policy, tourism, science, innovation and technology, education, environmental protection, construction, physical planning and transport.
In order to highlight the investment potential of Croatian timber industry, Gorski Kotar has been chosen as the location for the meeting. The association of small-sized food companies held its own presentation in view of the usefulness of Flanders’ experience and the possibility of cooperation. The choice of Gorski Kotar reflects the government’s support for local areas, which also includes activities of this kind by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.
Flanders is currently, according to Eurostat data from March this year, Europe’s fourth most prosperous region and can be a valuable partner for Croatia in the EU. Croatia’s economic cooperation with Belgium and its regions, notably Flanders, is good but there is room for improvement, namely following the 2014-2015 Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Government of Flanders.