Croatian Chamber of Commerce president Nadan Vidosevic said using the advantages of the common EU market and preserving the position in non-EU markets was equally challenging for Croatia.

Economy Minister Radimir Cacic presented the Croatian government's strategy with an emphasis on the reduction of public spending, retaining the rights of the most sensitive social categories, and a strong step forward in terms of investments.

He called on Eurochambres representatives to encourage the companies in their countries to participate in investments planned in the energy sector, road-building, the renovation of railways, schools and hospitals, and in tourism.

Cacic spoke of the public debt monetization project with regard to the Croatian Motorways and Rijeka-Zagreb Motorway companies, saying Croatia's motorways, "the best in the world", were attractive to investors.

Croatia's EU accession will also make it possible to build Peljesac Bridge through EU funds, he said.

Eurochambres president Alessandro Barberis said Croatia's upcoming EU accession was a strong message to the other countries in the region.

The business community needs as much Europe as possible in order to develop its projects in peace, security and stability, he said.

Vice president Rifat Hisarciklioglu said Croatia had shown how EU requirements could be met.

It seems easy, but it's not, because success stories aren't free, he said, hopeful that EU countries' parliaments would ratify Croatia's Accession Treaty without a problem.

The meeting drew representatives of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Montenegro, Israel, Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

Croatia's trade with them was US$ 4.2 billion last year, accounting for 11.6 per cent of its trade. Those countries accounted for 11.2% of Croatia's exports.