The mark DB4a stands for moderate investment risk, with the letter 'a' being the highest mark in the category of moderate investment risk.
Croatia has thus overtaken Romania, which has a credit rating of DB4c and caught up with Bulgaria (DB4a), BonLine reported.
This is the second time this year that Dun & Bradstreet has raised Croatia's credit rating.
The agency's analysts say that the EU membership talks will definitely mark events on the Croatian political scene until the end of the decade, regardless of which party wins the elections scheduled for 2007.
Although the government's aspirations to lead the country into the EU by 2009 are not unrealistic, the complexity of the reforms which Croatia will be asked to implement will postpone admission by a year or two, the analysts estimate.
Arrangements with the European constitution will have to be completed in the meantime before any new member is admitted.
D&B analysts believe that the constitutional arrangements will not affect Croatia's admission and forecast that 2010 is a realistic year for EU entry.
Longer negotiations will give the Croatian authorities more time to deal with problematic areas, notably government incentives (to the shipbuilding and railway sectors) and reform of the agricultural and judicial sectors.
The EU has set government incentives at the maximum of two percent of GDP, while in Croatia's case they make up 5-6 percent of GDP. Reducing government incentives will help Croatia in the process of further fiscal consolidation and reduction of the state debt, the analysts say.