"We do not have that kind of money but I think that we can obtain considerable amounts from the EU pre-accession funds, if we put forward good projects," said Mladineo in his interview with the Reuters news agency published on Wednesday.
Croatia launched accession negotiations with the EU last year, looking forward to becoming a newcomer in 2010. The country has already started introducing measures to cut back on packaging waste and illegal dumping, Reuters reported.
"We must admit that Croatia is below EU environmental standards, but we are making big strides to catch up. We are investing a lot and changing the people's awareness of the environment," Mladineo told Reuters.
The screening of the adjustment of Croatia's legislation on environmental protection to the EU acquis communautaire was done in Brussels in May and Mladineo said he was confident the talks would go smoothly.
"After the screening, we estimate Croatia will need between 10 and 11 billion euros ($14.11 billion) to fully reach EU standards... But I am confident that the environment will cause no glitches in the negotiations," Mladineo was quoted by Reuters.
"I believe we can reach EU standards around 2015. We are already environmental leaders in the region and, most importantly, have made people and companies aware of what is harmful for the environment," he said.
According to Reuters, efforts are already being made to bring the country up to speed environmentally.
For instance, buyers of new cars will soon pay an extra fee, which will finance authorised car collectors who will dispose of their cars when they are no longer useable.
Most of the legal dumps will be closed or modernised to separate recyclable waste by the end of this decade, Mladineo said.
"Croatia is the third richest European country in natural water resources and quality water will soon become our most valuable resource," Mladineo said.