"After all the talks I have had, I am even more optimistic and I believe that we will get a date and that we will start negotiations in early spring, by April at the latest," Zuzul told Croatian reporters in Sofia following bilateral talks with the foreign ministers of Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Belgium and Sweden.
Zuzul was in the Bulgarian capital representing Croatia at the 12th ministerial conference of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). In the afternoon, he opened the second plenary session with his speech.
The minister said that he had been told by all the colleagues he had met formally and informally, such as representatives of Austria, the Holy See and Luxembourg, that they believed that Croatia would be given a start date.
"They think that everything Croatia has done over the past period, particularly over the past year, shows that it meets all the criteria and that it is on the European path," Zuzul said, adding that the Hungarian delegation had even pointed this out in the address at the plenary conference.
Zuzul said he did not think the European Council would make a group decision for four candidate countries, but that "each country will be treated individually, which is important to us."
"We want to have our own schedule of talks, because only in that case will it be realistic for us to complete the talks some time in 2007 and, as the president of the European Commission said in his opening address, to become a full member of the EU during the term of the present Commission, in mid-2009," the minister said.
Zuzul said it was not important if Croatia were given a date for the start of negotiations under a condition.
"There is no date without conditions. Regardless of whether we get a date under a condition, be it verbal or written, there are conditions which we have to meet - the Copenhagen criteria. It is important that it should be clearly defined when Croatia starts talks and the framework of their conduct," he said.
"But I would not bother too much about how it is formulated, because the EU has mechanisms by means of which it can slow down or even stop any country unless it meets all the political criteria," he added.
Zuzul described the first day of the conference as very successful, saying that it focused on the future of the OSCE.
Zuzul said he had underlined in his speech that Croatia had a successful OSCE mission on its territory and that the time had come to bring the mission to a close and for Croatia to switch over from the status of recipient of assistance from the OSCE to a stage when it would make an active contribution to OSCE missions in the world.
"Croatia will do this in cooperation and consultation with the OSCE," the minister said, expressing hope that "there is understanding for this within the organisation."
The ministerial conference closes on Tuesday with the third plenary session.