"Croatia will soon become a member of the European Union and NATO and that will be good for it and for the two organisations," Genscher said in a talk delivered on Croatian Diplomacy Day.
The Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration was organising a series of events from June 11 to 16 to mark the 15th anniversary of international recognition of Croatia as an independent state.
Foreign Minister Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic said that Genscher's arrival was "a great honour," thanking him for the role he had played in the process of winning international recognition for Croatia in 1991 and 1992.
Genscher said that the international recognition of Croatia and Slovenia was "a necessary, good and clever decision and it was important that it was taken unanimously." He recalled that the unanimous recognition of the two countries by the European Union was crucial for the rest of the international community to follow suit.
Speaking of the European constitution and debates whether or not the EU could accept new members before the constitution was adopted, Genscher said he was "quite certain" that Croatia would become a member, adding that membership candidates could not be held hostage to the European constitutional crisis "because that's pointless."
"It cannot and won't work like that. I'm quite certain that Croatia will become a member," he said and stressed: "It seems to me that Croatia lives in the European Union already today, although formally it's not a member, and that's a good preparation for future membership."
He concluded his talk by saying: "Croatia, welcome to the EU and NATO!"
Attending were diplomats accredited in Croatia and former Croatian prime ministers and foreign ministers.
Earlier in the day, Genscher was received by Prime Minister Ivo Sanader.