He was speaking at an international conference on economic cooperation and investing in Southeast Europe, which was organised by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an independent Washington-based think-tank.
As regards others, who are behind Croatia, we hope Serbia will manage to make up for lost time and that the blockades to its membership will be eliminated, said Priebe.
He underlined that the EU would not tolerate the creation of any shortcuts for accelerated accession or lower criteria for political reasons.
Dismissing complaints that additional criteria had been thought up in Brussels for the Balkans, Priebe said the criteria were identical for all countries, but that the Balkans had specific issues, such as refugee returns or war crimes and cooperation with the UN tribunal in The Hague.
Priebe said the Union had made mistakes in the last enlargement round that it did not wish to repeat, such as the non-implementation of laws adjusted to European legal standards.
We used to be impressed by the text of a law, but later we would realise that this law was not being applied at all, that in reality it meant nothing, he said, adding, Which is why now, in the case of the states in the Balkans, we insist so much on capabilities for a quality application of laws as well.
He said the association and accession process lasted 10-15 years for all countries, as was also the case now in the Balkans, which he added had its own, additional problems.
After Romania and Bulgaria, the EU will have to carry out internal reforms in order to function better, Priebe said, but added that those reforms would not stop any one country in Southeast Europe on its road to membership.
The deputy coordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, Michael Mozur, said 2006 was politically an important year for the region because important state issues had been resolved, such as Montenegro's independence and elections in Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He added the issue of Kosovo's status should be settled by year's end.
Speaking of the importance of a clear European perspective for the Western Balkans, Mozur said the ongoing debate about EU enlargement fatigue and what do to next did not contribute to the region's stability and interests. He added the region's countries could defuse this debate by demonstrating a clear and convincing EU vision and EU vocation.
Mozur said a forthcoming free trade agreement represented a watershed in the liberalisation and opening of the regional market as it would combine the 32 bilateral agreements existing between the states.
Although we still have to resolve some serious problems, we are confident that an ambitious, inclusive and modern regional trade agreement will be signed as early as this year, said Mozur.
The director of the US Department of State office for central and south Europe, Christopher Hoh, underlined that the closure of the Kosovo status issue and the free trade agreement were political and economic imperatives for the region.
If you want to make the market attractive you have to understand that investors will view you as one region. A regional free trade agreement does not mean we want to set up some new Yugoslavia, said Hoh.
A representative of the conference's organiser, Janusz Bugajski, said the time had matured for Europe's southeast to turn to the economy and the future because of its significant potentials for economic development, regional cooperation, foreign investment, and finally, EU integration.