We hail this historic decision of the Council of the European Union, read a final declaration which the ministers adopted at the Regional Partnership meeting in Budapest.
The start of the accession talks sends a message of encouragement to the entire region, the declaration said.
Apart from the foreign ministers of the Regional Partnership's member states - Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland - the meeting is also attended by the foreign ministers of Croatia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia-Montenegro and Macedonia.
Croatian Foreign Minister Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic thanked all countries that supported the decision on the start of Croatia's EU membership talks.
"We are confident that the start of the negotiations would greatly contribute to the further process of European uniting and show countries of the region the positive sides of the implementation of the necessary reforms," Grabar Kitarovic said.
She said the prospect of EU membership is an encouragement to a number of countries on the path of transformation into democratic societies with a successful economy.
The EU should maintain this climate and thus intensify pro-European political forces that are the best promoters of permanent stability and prosperity of the region, the Croatian minister said.
Grabar Kitarovic went on to say that Croatia saw regional partnership as a form of support to the implementation of the Euro-Atlantic agenda in Southeast Europe and expressed hope that enlargement would remain the EU's priority in the coming period.
The ministers stressed the strong commitment of western Balkan countries to joining Euro-Atlantic associations based on equal criteria and individual merits. Also underlined is the importance of the continuation of cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.