The meeting is being held in line with a Protocol on the establishment of the Adriatic Euroregion and under the sponsorship of the Council of Europe.
Addressing the event, Croatian Foreign and European Integration Ministry State Secretary Marija Pejcinovic-Buric said that the Croatian government welcomed the implementation of such initiatives which "are in full compliance with the European standards for establishing ties".
Those initiatives are in a way a good version for establishing networks of cooperation and foundations for joint projects for use of the current and future joint funds of the European Union. That's why the Croatian government has a positive attitude towards the creation of Euroregions, which will contribute to Croatia's efforts to join European integration processes, Pejcinovic-Buric said.
Istria County Prefect Ivan Jakovcic presented the statute and a model of work of the Adriatic Euroregion which would be adopted later in the day.
Jakovcic said that under the statute, members of the region are expected to join efforts so as to encourage and achieve the progress in this area.
He added that the Pula event gave Croatia a particular role at the Adriatic and at eastern border of the European Union.
The president of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Giovanni Di Stasi, who took part in the meeting, said that this event was a step forward to creating a united European family.
Nations at the Adriatic must build their joint future, he said adding that in this context the Adriatic Sea had to become a sea of peace and cooperation.
The Protocol on the establishment of the Adriatic Euroregion was signed in Tremoli, Italy, last September.
The region will include seven Croatian coastal counties and coastal areas from Italy, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia-Montenegro, and Albania.
It will have five commissions on environmental issues, tourism and culture, agriculture and fisheries, transport and infrastructure.