The first Croatia Summit in Dubrovnik was held July 2006 under the title Completing Europersquos Southern Dimension: The Values that Bind Usrdquo. In October the previous year Croatia had launched the EU entry talks and made progress in NATO accession. The first Croatia Summit was dedicated to security issues and the Euro-Atlantic integration process.
The following year, 2007, Croatia Summit was again dedicated to the security and stability of Europersquos southeast as well as to the NATO enlargement process. Heads of state and government as well as foreign and defence ministers discussed on the topic of Europersquos New Southrdquo.
Security, Development and Prosperityrdquo was the topic of the third Croatia Summit held 2008, only months after Croatia had been invited to join NATO.
Europe#39s Strategic Imperative - Energy, Investment and Developmentrdquo was the theme of Croatia Summit 2009. In April the same year Croatia became a full-fledged NATO member.
Croatia Summit 2010 focused on global challenges from the regionrsquos perspective and was themed Southeast Europe Facing Global Challengesrdquo, while the next one in 2011, held a few days after the closing of the EU negotiations, dealt with the future under A New Decade for Southeast Europe ndash the End of Transitionrdquo.
State Building and the EU Experiencerdquo was the topic of Croatia Summit 2012. It is precisely the state building process and not membership per se that is the key result of Croatiarsquos negotiations. Equally so, the know-how and experience gained in that process as well as the individuals involved form the basis of the Centre of Excellence ndash a project aimed at transferring that know-how to the countries in the region and beyond, to the countries of the Southern Mediterranean.
