SALZBURG, July 31 (Hina) - Prime Ministers of south-eastern European countries, including Croatia's PM Ivica Racan, who convened in Salzburg on Thursday, said it was important to promote regional cooperation not because of
international pressure but because it was in the interest of countries in the region.
SALZBURG, July 31 (Hina) - Prime Ministers of south-eastern
European countries, including Croatia's PM Ivica Racan, who
convened in Salzburg on Thursday, said it was important to promote
regional cooperation not because of international pressure but
because it was in the interest of countries in the region. #L#
The meeting of premiers of Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
Romania, and Serbia-Montenegro was organised at an initiative of
the Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe, Erhard
Busek, and Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schussel.
"We have agreed that regional cooperation is of crucial importance
as our free choice and not as a task imposed, for instance, by the
European Union," Racan told Croatian reporters after the Salzburg
meeting.
He added that regional cooperation was an integral part of the
countries' aspirations towards Europe.
The Salzburg event pooled the Bosnian ministerial council's
chairman, Adnan Terzic, Bulgaria's PM Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha,
Montenegrin's Milo Djukanovic, Serbia's Zoran Zivkovic and
Romania's Adrian Nastase, besides Racan.
Their Albanian counterpart Fatos Nano did not arrive at the
meeting, although his participation had been announced.
The participants in the meeting discussed concrete project in
economic cooperation and cooperation in efforts to counter
organised crime.
(hina) ms sb