I congratulate the Croatian government, the president of the republic, the Croatian parliament, the judiciary, prosecutorial authorities and all other state agencies that have cooperated with the European Commission in recent years, Vandoren said at a news conference after the EC announced its proposal.
Croatia has done what has been necessary and the European Commission has concluded that it is good, he said, expressing hope that the political aspect of the negotiations would be closed in the coming weeks.
It is now on the EU member-states to decide whether they agree with the European Commission, Vandoren said, calling on the Croatian authorities to continue conducting reforms primarily for the sake of Croatian citizens.
The EU Delegation will continue cooperating with the Croatian authorities to see to it that this happens, he said.
The Council of the EU is already preparing a declaration on the conclusion of Croatia's negotiations so that the document could be adopted by EU leaders at the European Council's summit scheduled for 23 and 24 June.
The job of preparing the text of the Croatia-EU accession treaty can take six months. Within 30 days of the signing of the treaty, Croatia should hold a referendum on its entry into the bloc. This is followed by the ratification of the document, which should end by 1 July 2013, the indicative date for the country's admission.
Commenting on a relatively low support among Croatians for the country's EU drive, Vandoren said that the decision on EU membership would be one of the most important decisions in the near future.
I do not believe that Croatians are Eurosceptical. If they are very well informed, they will realise that Croatia's future lies in the EU, the diplomat added.