Participants agreed that institutionalisation of relations with the European Union helped strengthen the role of the CEI, according to a press release issued by the Croatian Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry.
Croatia's delegation at the Sofia event was led by Assistant Foreign Minister Pjer Simunovic
The CEI was established in 1989 as an intergovernmental forum for political, economic and cultural co-operation among its 18 member-states. Croatia joined it in 1992.
One of CEI"s objectives is to bring the countries of Central and Eastern Europe closer together and assist them in their preparation process for EU membership.