"(The decision) has crowned the process that started after elections in 2000, when Croatia embarked on the road towards membership in the united Europe," the president said in a statement.
Mesic said Croatia should not be disheartened by the fact that the start of entry talks was conditional on full cooperation with the Hague war crimes tribunal. All countries were required to meet certain conditions and standards, and Croatia was no exception, he added.
"I have always been resolute and consistent in advocating that Croatia should take its place in the European family of nations, confident that our country has and can have only one, European future.
"I have also consistently advocated that we should meet all the obligations we have assumed and eliminate the negative legacies of the recent wars, so that we can take our place on the European scene, unburdened with the remnants of the past, as an accepted and reliable partner and ally," Mesic said.
The president underlined that the duration and outcome of membership talks with the EU depended primarily on Croatia.
"We expect the understanding and assistance of our neighbours and all EU members on the road which has not been simple so far and which will not be simple in the future. I am confident that citizens of Croatia will not fall for the empty and cheap rhetoric of so-called Eurosceptics, actually people advocating a return to isolation, and that they will realise that our membership in the European Union will first of all be in our own interest," the president said.