The conference was opened by IER President Franz Schausberger and was attended by representatives of Croatian counties and the European Commission.
The meeting was addressed by the Deputy Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, Vesna Pusic, who said that Croatia's aspiration to EU membership was not just a foreign policy issue but also one of internal reform in Croatia.
"We can deal with all the remarks addressed to us, but there must be someone who will have the will to carry the reforms through," Pusic said.
The head of Varazdin County, Radimir Cacic, said that two-thirds of the funds Croatia had received from EU pre-accession funds for regional projects ended up in Varazdin County and that therefore Varazdin was thinking of becoming a training centre for attracting foreign investment.