D'Alema's statement that the European Commission would encourage Zagreb not to launch unilateral initiatives and to adopt multilateral logic, made at a joint news conference with Rehn, referred to the Croatian government's announcement that it would activate its decision on the Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone (EFPZ).
D'Alema and Rehn also discussed other topics related to EU enlargement, particularly Turkey and the Balkans.
D'Alema thanked the European Commission for encouraging Croatia to abandon what he called a discriminating attitude to the possibility of Italian nationals having access to the Croatian real estate market. Italy has requested that the Croatian real estate market be opened to Italian nationals as it is open to other EU nationals.
As for Turkey, D'Alema said that the door to the EU was always open to Turkey and that Ankara should fulfil its obligations.
As for Serbia, D'Alema said that his country supported democratic forces at the general elections to be held on 21 January, as well as Serbia's admission to the EU after the country met all conditions.
I hope that the elections in Serbia will strengthen European democratic forces, he said.
Italy's policy towards Belgrade is oriented towards encouraging pro-European and democratic forces which are very much present in Serbia's political life, he said.
The Italian minister reiterated his country's readiness to gradually open the door to the EU to the entire Western Balkans.
In May 2006, the EU suspended talks on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Serbia to punish Belgrade for its inability to arrest runaway war crimes indictee Ratko Mladic.
In his speech at an international conference on the Western Balkans in Rome today, Rehn repeated that the talks would continue if the new Serbian government made concrete steps to arrest the former Bosnian Serb military commander.
The door to the EU remains open to Turkey, Croatia and other Western Balkan countries. Once any of them meets the accession criteria, it can pass through that door, according to its own achievements, Rehn said.