He was speaking at a meeting of the European People's Party and European Democratic Christians (EPP-ED) group in the EP.
Brok underlined that Croatia was ahead of the other Western Balkan countries and that it had made significant progress in the Stabilisation and Association Process. He said this was why the Union had to find a new enlargement model given that there are countries which will not meet membership criteria for a long time.
Brok said two models were being considered, membership and good-neighbourliness, according to the examples of the European Free Trade Association and Norway, which he added did not refer to Croatia because it was a full membership candidate. He said Croatia could be separated from other countries in the SAP within six months at the most.
Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader voiced confidence that Croatia would join the EU in 2009 if the separation occurred and there were no bureaucratic obstacles, saying this was an ambitious but feasible goal. He added that in the autumn of 2007 the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) would win the general election and take Croatia into the EU.
EP Committee on Foreign Affairs member Bernd Posselt was against comparing Croatia with other countries, especially the joint mention of Turkey and Croatia, which he said created the impression that Croatia lagged behind Turkey, which he described as a non-European country which was late in the association process for decades, whereas Croatia was so close to membership.
Posselt also said it would be a historical sin if Bulgaria and Romania were admitted to the EU and Croatia was pushed into the group of countries that did not meet membership criteria.
Speaking of the entry negotiations and the screening process so far, Croatian Foreign Affairs and European Integration Minister Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic said Croatia had met all the demands and commitments put before it. She voiced confidence the opening of new negotiating chapters would be accelerated by the end of the year, and said Croatia would invest maximum efforts but that it needed help from its friends.
Speaking of the judicial reform, Justice Minister Ana Lovrin said Croatia had significantly improved the effectiveness of the judicial system since the launch of EU entry negotiations.
Economy Minister Damir Polancec said Croatia was undergoing a very dynamic period important for economic growth, higher employment and living standards.
Today's part of the meeting ended with most European parliamentarians stating that Croatia belonged to Europe and that they fully supported its EU membership.
The meeting of the EPP-ED, the strongest group in the EP, is the first of this kind in Croatia. Tomorrow, participants will address topics concerning Southeast Europe.