The minister was quoted as saying that as long the UN court's chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte was saying that certain governments were not cooperating with the Hague tribunal to put war criminals behind bars, it was too early to talk about the European integration of Croatia and other Balkan countries.
Speaking at a press conference, the minister said Europe was not just a system of values, but also a way of creating peace.
AFP said Croatia's EU entry negotiations were supposed to start last March, but that Brussels postponed them due to Zagreb's lack of cooperation with the Hague tribunal.
The newswire service also said that EU political leaders considered the issue of runaway Gotovina the last obstacle to the start of accession talks with Croatia.