HINA-English Language Service/HINA
December 4, 2007

VIENNA, Dec 4 (Hina) - Southeast Europe is developing very well, economic growth is constantly on the rise, and Croatia can serve as a model to other countries in the region, Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer said at a round-table discussion entitled "Austria and Southeast Europe - The Future of Doing Business", which was held in Vienna on Tuesday. Croatia is the third most important country to Austria, after the Czech Republic and Hungary, in terms of volume of direct investment. Austrian-Croatian trade has increased by 2.1 per cent and Croatia is the "success story" of our cooperation, Gusenbauer said. Croatia will be the first country from the region to join the European Union, the Austrian Chancellor said, adding that all Western Balkan countries should have EU prospects and that the pace of meeting the set membership criteria and standards would depend on them. Slovene Development Minister Ziga Turk also supported the EU prospects of the Western Balkan countries, saying that the EU could not be complete without them. Montenegrin Prime Minister Zeljko Sturanovic said that Montenegro's strategic objectives included joining European integration processes and international financial institutions through democratic development and reform. Milan Parivodic, adviser to the Serbian Prime Minister, cited the stability of the region and reaching a negotiated settlement to the status of Kosovo as Serbia's political priorities, stressing that Serbia would use all political and diplomatic means available to preserve its territorial integrity. "Serbia will not use force unless the other side does so," Parivodic said. Boris Vujcic, deputy governor of the Croatian National Bank and deputy chief negotiator on EU membership, described the discussion as very interesting, saying that all countries were trying to attract foreign direct investments. Austria is one of the largest investors in Southeast Europe and the discussion was informative for investors, Vujcic said. The round table drew over 100 participants, including senior state officials, leading Austrian business people and representatives of Austrian and international banking and financial institutions.