Patten, an advisor at Oxford University, was addressing a European National Forum, announcing the next speaker, Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader.
In an interview on Irish RTE 1 radio earlier today, Patten commended Croatia's achievements, saying they made it a candidate prepared for EU membership.
Croatia will be a strong and ultimately powerful EU member, he said, describing it as a beautiful country with a high income per capita which had shown that it was capable of a peaceful transfer of authority.
Patten went on to say that EU enlargement should not be feared because the enlargement carried out in 2004, and before, including Spain, Portugal and Greece, had proven to be the most successful achievement of the EU's external policy because of its stabilising effect on the region.
He said enlargement to the Western Balkans should have a similar impact and advocated Turkish membership because of the stability factor.