At the end of the conference the EU ministers and ministers from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro and Croatia adopted conclusions calling for closer cooperation in the prevention of all forms of organised cross-border crime.
Croatian Justice Minister Vesna Skare Ozbolt and Interior Minister Ivica Kirin spoke about Croatia's progress in fighting organised crime and its aspirations regarding the introduction of new standards in building an efficient state administration in the area of the judiciary and the interior.
Participants in the conference said Croatia and other countries in the region had made great progress in the adoption of relevant legislation and in fighting organised crime, said Kirin, who spoke about the importance of establishing a single information system which would facilitate efforts to track down criminal groups and enable Croatia to become a more active participant in building security.
"Croatia was described as a good example to other countries in the region," Skare Ozbolt said, calling for closer cooperation among countries in the region.
European Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini welcomed the progress of Western Balkan countries in their development, but added that much remained to be done in the prevention of corruption, organised crime, smuggling of migrants, people and drug trafficking, etc.
The countries participating in the Vienna conference have pledged to strengthen cooperation in the prevention of organised crime, he said, promising EU support and technical assistance to those countries on their road to EU membership.
On the margins of the conference, Ministers Skare Ozbolt and Kirin held a number of bilateral meetings with their colleagues from Austria and countries in the region. Skare Ozbolt met EC Vice-President Frattini, whom she invited to visit Croatia in the first half of next year, which he accepted.
Skare Ozbolt also met OSCE media freedom representative Miklos Haraszti, who welcomed the announced changes to Croatia's Criminal Code, notably regulations on defamation.