Regional cooperation is imperative for all countries. We expect the European Commission and EU member states to intensively help the countries in the region to overcome obstacles on their path towards the EU, Boban Ilic, the secretary-general of the Standing Working Group for regional rural development, said after the SWG working meeting in Zagreb.
Croatian Agriculture Minister Petar Cobankovic said that Croatia had today taken over the chairmanship over the SWG.
The SWG supports southeastern European countries' efforts to enter the EU, Minister Cobankovic said, adding that the meeting also focused on the development of bilateral cooperation of those countries.
The meeting also revolved around cooperation within CEFTA (Central European Free Trade Agreement).
We advocate further liberalisation of trade in agricultural produce within CEFTA, the Croatian minister said.
He went on to say that participants in the meeting had been acquainted with the EU's new joint agricultural policy for the 2013-2020 period.
The SWG meeting brought together delegations from Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Serbia, and Croatia.
The conclusions of the meeting read that it is necessary to exchange information and the know-how among agricultural agencies and agencies for regional development in the southeastern European countries, join in regional initiatives such as the SWG, jointly draw up and promote rural development policies, apply and manage pre-accession processes etc.