OPATIJA: CONFERENCE ON TRANS-BORDER REGIONAL COOPERATION ENDS

OPATIJA, Feb 29 (Hina) - Speaking at the end of a two-day conference on trans-border regional cooperation in Opatija on Sunday, the leader of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar Alliance (PGS), Nikola Ivanis, said one of the goals of the conference was to promote the notion of a Europe of citizens.#L# The leader of the Vojvodina Reformists, Mile Isakov, said that regional parties had to convince their governments about the need of organising Europe as a community of regions. Participants in the conference agreed about the need to establish national and regional agencies for the promotion of regional development, reduce differences in the level of development of regions, harmonise activities in the areas of zoning and environmental protection, and promote activities in road and railway construction and trans-border public transportation, as well as joint investments and joint tourist offer. It was also agreed that the conference should become a regular forum on cooperation among regional parties. The event was organised by the PGS and was attended by representatives of ten regional parties from Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, and Slovenia. (Hina) rml