He was attending a meeting of the European Union Council of Transport Ministers, at which he presented Croatia's views on the inclusion of Croatian transport routes in the trans-European transport network (TEN-T).
Antesic said Croatia had a good chance of becoming part of Corridor 10 (Ljubljana-Zagreb-Belgrade) and Corridor 5b (Hungarian border-Zagreb-Rijeka), "otherwise we would be an isolated island."
The meeting discussed a draft regulation on guidelines for the development of TEN-T, whereby the existing network of roads, rail lines, airports and navigable inland waterways will be combined to form a single transport network.
The European Commission moved the draft regulation last October, defining the core transport network, which would have priority in terms of co-financing from EU funds, and a comprehensive transport network. The former should be completed by 2030 and the latter by 2050.
The comprehensive network on the regional and national levels would be financed mainly by member countries, with possible co-financing from the European funds. The aim is that by 2050, most EU citizens are not more than a 30-minute drive from the comprehensive network.