Mesic said this on Friday at an informal meeting of heads of state of Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia who convened to discuss regional cooperation in the economy and tourism.
Addressing the event, Mesic said that the good direction was a result of endeavours of all the countries in the region to adopt European standards of behaviour and laws in accordance with European Union mechanisms.
He also mentioned the issue of defining the final status of the UN-administered province of Kosovo, Montenegro's referendum on sovereignty set for 21 May, and the recent rejection of draft amendments to the constitution in Bosnia.
According to the Croatian president, these issues must not cause new crises and must be settled in a democratic way and in line with agreements with the international community.
Earlier in the day, Mesic met his Albanian and Serbian counterparts, Alfred Moisiu and Boris Tadic, on the margins of the Durres conference.
The conference ended with the adoption of a joint declaration emphasising good European prospects of the region.