This was the first in a series of visits by technical delegations to Croatia, the purpose of which was to establish how Croatia was preparing to meet EU standards in this area, said Assistant Agriculture Minister Mate Brstilo, who heads the Veterinary Administration.
Although all findings of the delegation will not be known before the inspection report is finalised, the EC officials have expressed some reservations concerning the chain of responsibility, jurisdiction and crisis management in this field.
Declining to give more details about the delegation's findings, Hugh Quigley said that he was impressed by the professionalism and enthusiasm of representatives of all 12 institutions which the delegation visited this week.
Giving a general assessment, Quigley expressed confidence that Croatia would very soon make major progress if it made the best of the sizeable assets from EU pre-accession funds.
As regards the hygiene and safety of food and the health of animals and plants, Croatia should be ready to join the EU during this decade, Quigley said.