"The entry into the Schengen passport-free area is a strategic national interest," Ostojic told a news conference after a government session at which a declaration on Croatia's preparedness for the start of the Schengen evaluation procedure was adopted.
The minister said that Croatia could apply to join the Schengen area only after two years had passed since its accession to the European Union, namely on July 1, adding that he would submit Croatia's declaration next Thursday in Brussels at a session of the Justice and Home Affairs Council.
After July 1, the evaluation procedure will be launched and it depends not only a country's technical readiness to join the Schengen area but also on a political decision from Brussels, the minister said.
"Bulgaria and Romania have been members of the EU for a long time and have passed the technical evaluation but a political decision on their joining the Schengen area has not been made yet," said Ostojic.
The evaluation procedure, which lasts around one and a half years, begins with filling in a standard form with 390 questions, which Croatia will answer during the summer.
Along with compliance with technical conditions, the evaluation process also covers border management, the visa regime, migration and asylum, police and security, the functioning and use of the Schengen information system, customs cooperation, protection of personal information, judicial cooperation in criminal matters, and the functioning of state institutions in the implementation of the Schengen acquis.
So far Croatia has been given 120 million euros by the EU to meet the Schengen area standards and the funds have to be used up until 23 July 2016.
The funds have to be used to improve standards in the control of the future external EU border (building and equipping of border crossings, the purchase of technical equipment for border control... ), otherwise they will have to be returned to the EU.
So far 2.5 million euros has been spent but contracts have been signed for 90% of the funding, said Ostojic, citing as an example border crossings that are still being built and for which funding will be received once they are completed.
Croatia is protecting its border - the future EU border - very well, Ostojic said, recalling that illegal border crossings in 2014 dropped 17.3% from 4,734 in 2013 to 3,914 in 2014.
The number of asylum seekers dropped from 1,059 to 453.
Ostojic compared the figures with Hungary's statistics which show that in 2012 that country had 2,200 asylum seekers on average, in 2013 the number was 18,900 and in 2014 42,777, while in the first two months of 2015 there were 25,000 asylum-seekers.
Ostojic is therefore confident that the submission of Croatia's declaration of readiness in Brussels and all future procedures will prove the degree of the country's readiness to apply the Schengen border regime.