Pjer Simunovic from the Croatian Foreign and European Integration Ministry said Croatia had a fundamental role in the promotion of regional security, which is the foundation of Croatia's security policy and of its application for membership of NATO and the EU.
"We believe Croatia is very close to the EU and NATO, as far as the economic, social, political and defence reforms are concerned," Simunovic said and added that in that context Croatia also saw its regional role because it can be an example to other countries in the region.
Peter Volten from the Centre for European Security Studies from the Netherlands said that despite the current situation in Europe, namely the negative results of the referendum on the European Constitution in France and today's referendum on the same issue in the Netherlands, Croatia must not give up its European aspirations.
Croatia needs to be encouraged in efforts to join the EU and NATO, Volten said.
The objective of the meeting which started yesterday was to inform the Croatian public of integration with the EU and NATO.
A course for journalism students was also organised as part of the panel discussion.