Gotovina is not the condition. The condition is full cooperation with the Hague tribunal, said the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
In his opinion, full cooperation means that Croatia should do what it did when it twice received a positive opinion from tribunal chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte.
The wording that would be satisfactory to the European Union would be that Croatia is cooperating with the tribunal "beyond reasonable doubt", which should be stated by the chief prosecutor, he said.
The diplomat rejected allegations that Britain wanted Croatia to be admitted to the bloc together with Serbia, adding that at Wednesday's meeting of the Council of Ministers more than two thirds of EU member states were against or reserved about opening the talks with Croatia.
He said that the idea of setting up a committee to monitor Croatia's cooperation with the Hague tribunal seemed "complicated and long" and could be interpreted as an attempt to bypass the Council.
The diplomat insisted that there were people in Croatia who knew the whereabouts of the runaway general and criticised Croatian media for attacking British officials who were assisting Croatia in arresting him.