In his final meeting with the press before leaving the post in Croatia on April 30, Semneby said that radical changes had been made since he assumed the post three years and three months ago, the most important of which was the uniform vision in the country of the need to join the European Union.
He said the EU wanted to accept Croatia without major issues such as minority rights, the refugee issue or relations with neighbouring countries.
Semneby also said the political system in Croatia had matured.
As a concrete example of progress, he mentioned the law on the protection of ethnic minorities, which he described as very good.
Semneby said Croatia had progressed in most areas of which the OSCE Mission was in charge, highlighting the mission's improved relations with the government, with which he added the mission shared strategic goals.
He said there was a lot more work to be done also in areas which he described as successful, primarily law enforcement.
The ambassador voiced concern about the fact that progress in some areas of refugee return was slow, notably the restitution of flats to people who once had tenancy rights.
Semneby described judicial reform as a top priority, and said a comprehensive reform should also be carried out in the police. He added the OSCE Mission had given the Interior Ministry a police reform concept.
The ambassador said Croatia's electoral system functioned without major problems, but said it was vulnerable, an assessment he explained with the fact that the state election commission was an ad hoc body which only monitored the elections, while no one was in charge of the system in the meantime.
As of May 1, the OSCE Mission in Croatia will be headed by Spanish diplomat Jorge Fuentes Monzonis-Villalonga, whom Semneby wished the same good cooperation with the press which he enjoyed.