Croatia has made significant progress in the political and economic areas, which is also confirmed by the fact that at the start of this year the European Council decided to commence negotiations on Croatia's full membership in the first half of 2005, the European Enlargement Commissioner told a news conference in the offices of the EC Delegation to Croatia.
Rehn held the news conference after he had met for talks with all the top Croatian officials.
Rehn added that the fact that today's visit to Zagreb was his first duty he performed since he had taken office of Enlargement Commissioner in Barroso's EC reflected how much importance the new European Commission attached to the relations between Croatia and the EU.
Both the EU and the EC expect of Croatia to really become an example in the region as a country being firmly on the path towards European integration processes, and the next step in this direction will be the European Council's session on 7 December at which the council will talk about the date for the start of entry talks with Croatia, Rehn said adding that he and all his interlocutors in Zagreb had considered the critical issue of the full cooperation with the Hague tribunal.
It is clear that we were disappointed with the fact that the latest report by the tribunal's chief prosecutor was negative as since the very start we have abode by the statement that full cooperation is a necessary precondition for progress on the road towards full membership (in the Union), the EC official said.
Both Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul pointed out Croatia's determination to intensify efforts by mid-December and do all what it can to meet the obligation of the full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal, he added.
According to Rehn, regarding cooperation of any country in south-eastern Europe with the tribunal, the European Commission will always takes note of analyses of the tribunal's chief prosecutor. While Carla del Ponte's assessment was positive ahead of the EC's avis on Croatia's membership application, her latest conclusion is that Croatia has not invested enough efforts to arrest runaway General Ante Gotovina.
It is crucial for the Croatian government and all state structures to show that they are doing all what they can to remove the remaining obstacle, namely the Gen. Gotovina case, which is "larger than it appears at the first sight", Rehn said.
The EC official and his hosts in Zagreb discussed refugee returns, reforms in the judiciary and regional cooperation, in which Croatia has recently made positive progress.
If Croatia succeeds in meeting the necessary precondition of full cooperation, we are looking forward to the start of entry talks in the beginning of next year and to cooperation with the Croatian government and people with the objective of Croatia's splendid future within the EU, Rehn said.
Asked by reporters whether the fact that the Croatian parliament was now discussing a motion to give Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul a no-confidence vote would affect the further course of Croatia's efforts to join the EU, Rehn said that this was an absolutely internal matter of Croatia which is perceived by the EC as a country in which democracy and the rule of law function.
The EU and EC will communicate not with an individual but with the foreign minister as a representative of the sovereign Croatian state, he explained.