Celebrating Europe Week in Croatia

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration traditionally organizes the celebration of Europe week, this year for the eighth time in a row. Europe Week 2007 was celebrated from 2 to 12 May. This event was initiated by the Ministry in order to celebrate important dates in the history of European integration: 5 May 1949, the establishment of the Council of Europe, and 9 May 1950, the day the Schuman declaration was signed and which is now celebrated as Europe day. The event is realised in cooperation with the Delegation of the European Commission to the Republic of Croatia, the County Councils for European Integration, a number of NGOs, state administration bodies, primary and secondary schools and leading Croatian companies. During Europe week a number of events are organized in order inform the Croatian public about the European Union and the process of Croatia's accession to the EU.

One of the traditional events are the ‘EU Days’ organised in cooperation with the Croatian Students’ Association at the Faculty of Economics and Business in Zagreb. This year’s EU Days were held on 2 and 3 May. During EU Days Croatian state officials, EU Member States’ ambassadors and university professors hold lectures and discussions about different topics related to the process of Croatia's accession to the EU. This year lectures were focused on selected topics related to changes in tourism, marketing, finance and trade in the light of the EU accession process.

The Ministry also organizes quizzes and competitions for primary and secondary school pupils. One such event is Login@Europe, a competition for primary and secondary schools in designing EU-related websites for youth. It has been organized in cooperation with the Croatian Academic and Research Network – CARNet for the last six years. The goal of the competition is to encourage students to develop, adjust, and present information on the EU to the younger population by using the advantages of the Internet as an interactive medium. Therefore the works entered for the competition need to be adjusted and interesting to young people in technical terms and in terms of content. The topic of the 2007 competition was “Active role of young people in building their future and the future of the European Union", demonstrating the need for information as a basis in the development of democratic society and promoting young people's active citizenship in compliance with the Communication from the Commission to the Council on European policies concerning youth participation and information. The award ceremony was held on 4 May.

The central event of this year’s Europe Week was organized at the popular ‘Flower square’ in Zagreb, on 5 May, where citizens could get publications and promotional materials at the information stands or just enjoy music and take part in one of the organized activities (for example an art workshop for children etc). That day citizens could gather relevant information at the stands of the Ministry, the EC Delegation and Member States embassies in Croatia. Citizens also had the opportunity to ask the Ministry employees and state officials questions about the European integration process.

A new event organized this year was a project of the Delegation of the European Commission to the Republic of Croatia „EU bus Croatia 2007“ (see picture). The event was organized in partnership with the Ministry and EU Member States embassies. The main goal of this project was to promote the EU and its core values and ideas all over Croatia, to approach the Croatian citizens directly and provide them with relevant information on the EU and EU related issues, and to hear their opinions and suggestions about EU accession. Before the bus left for its first destination it was greeted by the President of the Republic of Croatia, Mr. Stjepan Mesic, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Mrs Kolinda Grabara-Kitarovic, the Head of the EC Delegation Mr. Vincent Degert, and the Deputy Mayor of Zagreb, Ms Ljiljana Kuhta Jeličić. The bus toured across eight Croatian towns: Sisak, Osijek, Vukovar, Slavonski Brod, Split, Zadar, Rijeka and Pula.

In each town the EU bus was parked on a central location (main town square/waterfront) and was the focal point for various activities. In every town info stands were installed in front of the bus with diverse activities organized for the citizens and especially for the children – jigsaw puzzles, painting, body painting etc. All the citizens had the possibility to solve the EU quiz and to win interesting prizes. The programme also included lectures and debates in secondary schools, universities and/or town halls as well as visits to schools and local TV and radio stations in cooperation with local and regional authorities.

During Europe week the 13th meeting of the National Forum on EU Accession entitled “Maritime Policy in Light of EU Accession”, took place on 7 May 2007 at the Ceremonial Hall of the Zadar University. The National Forum on EU Accession is an initiative launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration with the aim of raising the awareness of Croatian citizens about the process of Croatia’s EU accession and inciting public debate on the topic.

For more information on these or other events of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, please visit: www.mvpei.hr.