By the end of this decade, Croatia will have had a modern railway (from Rijeka) to the Hungarian border and further towards Budapest, the premier said after a ceremony at which two cranes, worth EUR 5-million on aggregate, were inaugurated at the port.

"Now being at the threshold of the European Union membership, we are finally starting to transform Rijeka into what it should be: a Croatian port and important port connecting a considerable part of Central Europe with the sea," Milanovic said.

He went on to say that the success of a nation and its economy was based on how it utilised its potentials and resources.

According to these parameters, we are not very successful and the Port of Rijeka has not been sufficiently successful, as its potential is higher, but not enough has been invested in the port over the past 10 years, the premier added.

He said "this is the beginning of a big story for Rijeka".

Kallas spoke about the importance of transport by sea and about the need for the Port of Rijeka to be adjusted to new technologies.

The European Commission facilitates the development, and modernisation of European ports, and the future of cargo transport depends on a series of factors, that is on a combination of different types of transport, the EC Commissioner said.

Minister Hajdas Doncic said the talks were being conducted on integrating Croatia's strategic transport routes into the European Union's core networks, which would make it possible for Croatia to receive 85% of funds necessary for that purpose from the European Union.

During the talks between Milanovic, Kallas and Hajdas Doncic, the Croatian officials vowed that Croatia would complete the railway from Rijeka to Botovo at the Croatian-Hungarian border in the period from 2014 to 2020. The entire project is estimated at EUR two billion, with some of the funds likely to be provided by the European Union.