He said it was now more important to focus on reforms and other necessary conditions which had to be met than to speculate about the date when Croatia would join the European Union. He also underlined the importance of dealing with refugee returns and minorities' rights.
Rehn said the EU was founded on the reconciliation of France and Germany. Reconciliation is a fundamental European value and it is time for Croatia to leave the past behind and build a better and brighter future for its citizens, he added.
After opening entry negotiations earlier this week, the EU expects Croatia to fulfil its commitments and continue cooperating with the war crimes tribunal in The Hague until fugitive general Ante Gotovina appeared before the UN court.
Asked to comment on US undersecretary for political issues Nicholas Burns's statement that NATO did not want Croatia until Gotovina was transferred to The Hague, Rehn said the United States and NATO were entitled to their own criteria.
He added the EU's criterion had been full cooperation with the Hague tribunal and that there was no reason to doubt chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte's assessment that full cooperation had been achieved with Croatia.
Today Rehn visited the Croatian parliament and held talks with members of the committee on foreign affairs and the joint committee of the European and Croatian parliaments, the Croatian parliament said in a press release.
Rehn congratulated Croatia on the opening of EU entry negotiations and underlined that the course of the negotiations would depend on the implementation and application of reforms, the establishment of the rule of law, judicial reform and suppression of corruption, the press release said, adding the enlargement commissioner also highlighted the importance of cooperation with the Hague tribunal.