During the seminar, participants discussed the European path of neighboring countries, while representatives from Croatia and Slovenia spoke about their experiences in the European Union. It was pointed out that Croatia has so far fulfilled the strictest criteria for joining the European Union and that it can and wants to use its experience to help neighboring countries. It was also emphasized that one of the most important requirements for membership is solving bilateral issues and building good neighborly relations.
Within the Summer Academy, Doris Pack, President of the EPP Women's Association and President of the Robert Schuman Institute, gave a lecture in which she gave an overview and outlook on the countries in the accession process. “The goal of joining the European Union is not just membership, but the acceptance of European values in your societies and the building of strong institutions in the states. The moment you become members of the European Union, your societies and states must already be like the European Union. That is the goal of the accession process,” underlined Pack.
During the Summer Academy, all participants had the opportunity to become familiar with the work of the European Parliament, the European Commission, its agencies and the Council of Europe. The message of the entire event is that there is a European perspective for neighboring countries from the European Union and that there is a desire for full membership by neighboring countries.