The establishment of the new Euroregion, to be based in Pula, came after two years of preparations under the auspices of the Council of Europe. Today's founding assembly of the Adriatic Euroregion was attended by representatives from all six member-countries - Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania.
Addressing the participants, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic said he was confident that countries gravitating towards the Adriatic Sea were taking part in the project for the sake of cooperation and not domination.
"We want to prove that regional interests do not have to be separate from national interests and that national policies do not have to be opposed to European policies. Quite the contrary, we want to show that within a wider framework, regional and national, as well as European processes, can be mutually complementary rather than mutually exclusive."
The President of the Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sulejman Tihic, said that Istria was the best possible place to establish the Adriatic Euroregion because it was known for its tolerance and openness. The Adriatic Euroregion will have an extremely important role because the Adriatic Sea is significant for the Adriatic countries, he said.
"Bosnia-Herzegovina is a maritime country, perhaps not as long as the other countries, but in many aspects it is oriented towards the Adriatic Sea, and as a multiethnic state it is interested in cooperating with all other countries in the Adriatic, the ultimate goal being integration with the European Union," Tihic said.
Istria County Prefect Ivan Jakovcic, the first president of the Adriatic Euroregion, said the region wanted to be "an efficient forum for harmonising different interests in the Adriatic".
"By establishing the Adriatic Euroregion we want to set the wheel of history irreversibly towards peace and prosperity."
The founding session also adopted the Statute of the Adriatic Euroregion, and elected Angelo Michele Diorio of the Italian region of Molise its vice-president.
After the session, the Office of the Adriatic Euroregion was opened in the building of the Italian Community in Pula.