EC COMMISSIONER MAKES FAVOURABLE STATEMENT ABOUT CROATIA

VIENNA, Dec 2 (Hina) - A statement by the European Commissioner for Europe's expansion Guenter Verheugen that Croatia needs to have an independent and different path to Europe than western Balkan countries is exceptionally significant because these countries would find it hard to follow Croatia's progress, Croatian European Integration Minister Neven Mimica said on Monday in Vienna. #L# Mimica is currently attending an international conference on the "Influence of the Expansion of the European Union on Business - Risks and Opportunities to Expand the European Market". "It is important for Croatia to commence procedural matters as soon as possible to submit its application for membership to the EU so that the application can become the basis for the Union to official evaluate Croatia's ambitions," Mimica said. "This is the first international conference at which Croatia's delegation does not have to convince participants of what Croatia can and intends to do on its path of drawing closer to the EU because Verheugen in fact did this himself in his presentation. In the eyes of all those participating in the conference (Verheugen) placed Croatia in the next round of the expansion," Mimica added. (hina) sp it sb