"I would like to share the satisfaction about the start of EU membership talks with the citizens of the Republic of Croatia. The opening of negotiations is a huge step forward when it comes to the realisation of the objective of our foreign policy, Mesic said and added there was no room for euphoric and celebratory behaviour "given that the job for Croatia starts now".
In the past we have been unnecessary burdening ourselves with dates and we have often dealt with unfounded qualifications of some countries as our unconditional friends and others as our sworn enemies, Mesic said.
"We had been forgetting that reforms and not dates were important and that all countries that had to agree with the start of Croatia's negotiations are EU member states, regardless of whether they were favouring or less favouring Croatia when it came to that issue. We will be in the Union together with all those countries not so far away in the future. And all of them will be our partners," Mesic said.
The beginning of the negotiations also marks the beginning of a new, crucial phase in drawing closer to and joining the European Union, Mesic said.
"And one must not forget that full cooperation with the Hague (war crimes) tribunal remains one of the issues based on which our European orientation and our readiness for a united Europe will be assessed," the president said.
Once it joins the EU Croatia will give its contribution to the solving of outstanding issues it faces, Mesic said.
"At this moment it is important to know and remember the following: We are on the right path, we made a significant step forward on that path and there is no country whose living standard had declined after it joined the EU," Mesic said in the statement.
The EU Council of Ministers in Luxembourg on Monday adopted a decision on the start of Croatia's membership talks.. The Bilateral Inter-Governmental Conference EU Croatia, which marked the opening of Croatia's accession, started in Luxembourg early Tuesday morning.