A delegation from Croatia, which started EU entry talks last October, was led by Justice Minister Vesna Skare Ozbolt and Minister of the Interior Ivica Kirin.
The EU ministers agreed that one should make better use of the European police force, Europol.
Europol is an important instrument of cooperation, particularly in the collection and exchange of information and analyses aimed at fighting more efficiently all forms of cross-border organised crime and terrorism, Austria's Minister of the Interior, Liese Prokop, said.
With regard to Europe's future security architecture, the ministers agreed that the existing institutions, Europol and Eurojust, should be used.
A European Commission Vice-President and Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, Gianfranco Frattini, and Austria's Minister of the Interior, Liese Prokop, called on all EU members to ratify all protocols concerning Europol.
Frattini told reporters the EC agreed with Austria that the EU had to play a more active role also on the international scene, which he said could be achieved only with a well-defined, clear and global security strategy. Western Balkan countries are a top priority of the European security strategy, Frattini said, adding that the EU had to set aside funds for that purpose.
Austrian Justice Minister Karin Gastinger called for connecting all institutions fighting organised crime to improve their efficiency and cooperation.
Croatian Justice Minister Vesna Skare Ozbolt described the meeting as very useful for Croatia, adding that Croatia had been mentioned as a country making major progress in the judiciary.
Skare Ozbolt and Kirin held a number of bilateral meetings on the margins of the Vienna conference.
Minister Kirin met his Bavarian counterpart Guenther Beckstein, who will visit Croatia next week. Kirin thanked the German minister for a donation of 12 all-terrain vehicles for the Croatian border police.