Vukelic was speaking at a press conference as part of events marking the European Day of the Entrepreneur, which are taking place in Zagreb on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Ministry of the Economy has applied for funds from the PHARE programme for proposed EUR20 million projects aimed at increasing the competitiveness of small and medium export-oriented enterprises.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic said she assumed the membership talks with the EU would take two to three years, and added that the screening process would start this month and that seven of the 35 negotiating chapters would be opened before the end of the year.
Grabar-Kitarovic pointed out that competitiveness was a major challenge in the process of Croatia's integration with the European Union. She said that entrepreneurs should be given full support and that red tape should be reduced in order to make it easier for firms to do business and to attract foreign investment.
The two ministers also stressed the need to protect indigenous and traditional products such as cheese, "kulen" (spicy sausage), wine and olives.