"I have agreed with Mr Barroso that the negotiations in Brussels are a visible, but smaller part of the job. We must carry out reforms by ourselves, for our own sake and not for the sake of the EU, and we must also intensify communication with our citizens because they are partners on our European road," Mesic told reporters with Barroso at his side.
Mesic said that it was in Croatia's interests that all countries in Southeastern Europe adopt European standards. "Croatia is negotiating with the EU individually and will continue its progress according to its individual readiness and capacity," the president said, adding that Croatia was not trying to "escape from the region" but to serve as "a European gateway for the region".
In this context Mesic said that Croatia looked the same way at regional cooperation and its economic interests.
"The Central European free trade zone has proved to be a successful model of cooperation and progress of that region towards the united Europe," Mesic said, recalling that all countries did not join CEFTA at the same time and that members of that initiative did not join the EU at the same time, but that they intensively cooperated and prepared themselves for full membership.
Mesic said that the European Commission had certain requirements, but that it provided great assistance, and that it was up to Croatia to make maximum use of that assistance. "After all it is direct investment in reform, and not in consumption," he said and called on all Croatian institutions to actively follow and cooperate with the European Commission in Brussels and through its office in Zagreb.
Barroso, who is on a two-day official visit to Zagreb, said that relations between Croatia and the European Commission had entered a new phase in their efforts to achieve their common goal -- full EU membership for Croatia.
Welcoming the clear and determined messages from President Mesic, Barroso said there would certainly be difficult issues on the table during the negotiations because the membership talks are a very demanding process, but noted that EU membership was in the interests of Croatia and its citizens.
We live in a globalised world and we need as competitive economies as possible. With or without the EU, all countries carry our reforms, which is a very demanding process, Barroso said.
He went on to stress that only a reliable and modern Croatia could be a leader in Southeast Europe and its integration into Europe.
It has nothing to do with the past, but everything to do with the future, Barroso said, adding that it was in the interests not only of citizens of Southeast Europe but of entire Europe that there should be some form of regional integration that would promote trade, investment and stability.
It is not a substitute for integration with the EU, but a way of reinforcing it, he said, noting that each country would be assessed on the basis of its own merits rather than through a general situation in the region.
Barroso stressed that the European Commission truly wanted to help Croatia in the process of development, saying that this could be best achieved through sincere dialogue and by highlighting difficulties in the negotiating process.
Citing his country, Portugal, and other EU member states, Barroso said they all had had difficulties in the process of integration, but that eventually they had achieved enviable results to the benefit of their citizens.