Austria's support for Croatia's European Union membership bid will make cooperation even better once Croatia joins the Union, notably in occupational rehabilitation, Mrsic said, adding that cooperation would also continue in youth employment and vocational training.
We share interests in the labour and social policies, a series of economic links and well-developed economic relations, said Hundstorfer.
He recalled that Croatia and Austria cooperated in labour, education, unemployment and labour legislation projects, and described the cooperation in pension and social insurance as important because of the many Croatians who work in Austria.
The two officials also talked about employment in tourism.
Asked by the press if on 1 July 2013, when Croatia joins the EU, Austria would open its labour market to Croatian workers, Hundstorfer said Austria would not insist on a transitional period of seven years but that it had two framework conditions - a labour force regulation based on which many Croatians find seasonal employment in Austria, and a list of insufficient skilled labour.
The question is, does Croatia want us to draw skilled labour from Croatia, he said.