Introduction

The 5^th International Conference, co-organized by the University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics, Chair Jean Monnet; the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics, Chair Jean Monnet; CEDIMES Paris and the University of Antwerp, Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, collected scholars and researchers from a number of countries to discuss topics covered by the conference title: "Economic Integration, Competition and Cooperation".

The Conference was a continuation of previous conferences ("Economic System of European Union and the Accession of Republic of Croatia"), with a slightly different title, focusing the conference on EU and Croatian economic systems in the process of accession. Due to the fact that Croatia was reaching the formal status of a EU candidate country, the focus of the 5^th conference was focused on topics which are vital and relevant for the future position and strategy of Croatia in the EU incorporated under the Conference's title.

Experiences of the countries recently joining the EU and other methodological and integration issues discussed at the Conference have produced a significant scientific volume, with a potentially important message for Croatian negotiators in the accession process with the EU. Topics discussed at the Conference and presented on this CD-rom version are significant to broader research interests, as well especially in countries which were represented at the Conference. Data, analysis and methods presented are often based on specific national data or specific national evaluations and assessments. This makes this volume of the Conference paper actual and interesting to very broad audience of researchers and scholars.

The Conference was composed of the Plenary session, ten working Sessions and a Closing session, where session chair holders presented the main achievements and interesting suggestions developed during presentations of the papers and during discussions. I’d like to use this opportunity and express my sincere gratitude again, to the session chair holders for their reports at the Closing session of the Conference. Their names are listed according to the session they had chaired: Mr. Dragoljub Stojanov, Ms. Ljiljana Maurović, Mr. Leon Olszewski, Mr. Kenan Spaho, Mr. Evrard Claessens (for two sessions), Mr. Zdenko Prohaska, Mr. Paul Marer, Ms. Nela Vlahinić Dizdarević, Ms. Marija Kaštelan Mrak.

The success of the Conference and this CD-rom could not be achieved without the members of the Organizing Committee and especially professor Vinko Kandžija, who was able to put together enough support and will of co-organizing institutions to make the Conference a remarkable scientific and research event.

All the participants of the Conference were asked to revise their original conference texts after the discussion at the Conference. The CD-rom contains all the papers presented at the Conference including the revised version, if accepted by the authors. The publication with its content will hopefully serve to support practical activities in EU accessing countries and will stimulate further research work in different research areas covered by the conference title.

Vinko Kandžija

Andrej Kumar

Rijeka, October 2005