It has been envisaged that Croatia enters negotiations early next year, but negotiations take several years so it is impossible for Croatia to join the EU together with Romania and Bulgaria, Potocnik told a Slovene weekly.
He said that if they meet all conditions Romania and Bulgaria would join the EU in early 2007 and added that accession agreements, which the two countries would sign in mid 2005, would include a clause under which their admission could be postponed for a year if they fail to meet all conditions for joining.
Commenting on Croatia's prospects of joining the Union, Potocnik said that depending on the country's ability to make all necessary internal adjustments and based on the experience of other countries, Croatia could count that three to five years would be necessary for it to make all the adjustments.
Asked whether disputes with Slovenia would be an obstacle to Croatia's joining the EU, Potocnik answered in the negative and added that even though they could seek help from the European Commission, the two countries must try to achieve good bilateral cooperation and stability in the region.
Potocnik said that in its procession of joining the EU Slovenia also asked of the European Commission to take a neutral standpoint in disputed issues with neighbouring countries and added that those disputes did not affect the pace of the country's admission into the EU.
Commenting on disputes about the Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone, Potocnik said the European Commission reacted to the Zone in an appropriate way and that an agreement was reached which was satisfactory to all countries.