The seventh edition of the Croatia Summit, entitled "State Building and the EU Experience", opened in Dubrovnik on Friday in the presence of Croatia's Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic, President Ivo Josipovic and Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic. Also attending were prime ministers, foreign ministers and other officials from European countries, notably from Southeast Europe, as well as from the United States, NATO and north African countries.
The new Croatian government is pleased to continue this already traditional conference on key international relations topics. This year we have decided to expand the topics that are of political, social and economic importance to the region of Southeast Europe to include the southern Mediterranean, Milanovic said in his opening remarks.
Milanovic said that Croatia's experience from the European Union accession process could be of help to other countries, especially post-conflict societies, in building and developing democracy regardless of whether they aspire to join the EU or not. He said that Croatia would strongly support further EU enlargement based on individual achievements, adding that Zagreb would be "a friend and a partner, and not a mentor" to countries aspiring to join the bloc.
In addition to the Croatian state leadership, the summit was being attended by Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha, Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Montenegrin Prime Minister Igor Luksic, Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, United States Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Gordon, European Union Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele, and the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Fathallah Sijilmassi.
All Croatian neighbours, except Serbia, sent their representatives to the summit. Slovenia was represented by Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec, Bosnia and Herzegovina by Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija, and Austria by the Deputy Chancellor and Minister of European and International Affairs, Michael Spindelegger.
For the first time the summit was being attended by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria.
Three panels were planned for Saturday -- the prospect of EU membership as a driving force for social and political change, state building in post-conflict societies, and partnership and institution building in the southern Mediterranean.
