The Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe, is one of organisers of a two-day seminar on "the Participation of Minorities in Public Life", that began in Zagreb on Friday.
The Croatian Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Constitutional Court, Zagreb University and Glasgow University also participated in the organisation of the event that brought together Croatian officials and representatives of ethnic minorities in the country as well as of international organisations who discussed legal solutions for the protection of minorities.
The status of minorities in society, efficient protection of their rights and their representation in law-making bodies are priorities as well as a test of democracy in a country, according to participants in the event that was held under the sponsorship of President Stjepan Mesic.
Buquicchio said that cooperation which Croatia began with the Venice Commission in the 1990s had produced excellent results in the field of the Constitution, the election legislation and the Constitutional Court for the Protection of National Communities and Minorities.
Croatian officials said the status of ethnic minorities in Croatia surpassed European standards in some segments, but that there was still some room for improvements in the implementation of those standards on the ground.
Commenting on the position of ethnic Croats in European countries, where there are about 500,000 Croats in those ethnic communities, Croatian Assistant Foreign Minister Mirjana Bohanec-Vidovic said their status varied from being fully recognised to situations in which they were not recognised at all.
She added that Croatia had signed bilateral agreements on the protection of minorities with Italy, Hungary and the former state union of Serbia and Montenegro and that an agreement to that effect with Macedonia was under preparation.