"We will submit to this commission all the evidence showing that our institutions are working (on this case) and assure them that there is no reason why Croatia should be hiding anyone, including Ante Gotovina," the president told reporters at an informal meeting with members of the public in his office on Saturday.
"I believe the information we will have will be enough to assure the monitoring (team) that we have done all we could to track down Hague tribunal fugitive Ante Gotovina. So far we have done all in our power, we will do more before the commission comes and I believe we will be credible," Mesic said.
He added that all data concerning cases of hiding and financing Hague tribunal fugitives, including information on the so-called Ahmic Group and Ivica Rajic, would be prepared before the EU commission arrives.
Responding to a journalist's question, Mesic said that all the relevant institutions had done all in their power to find Gotovina but that no progress had been made, and added that he personally thought that Croatia was the last country in which the runaway general would seek refuge.
Commenting on a parliamentary discussion on a declaration on antifascism, Mesic said that the Croatian public would be much more pleased if such heated debates were held on how to attract capital and new technologies to the country and how to create new jobs.
"That issue is definitely settled. No normal country in Europe is dealing with issues of the Second World War in its parliament because that war definitely ended with the victory of the antifascist forces," the president said.
"Fascism was the greatest danger to civilisation (...) and was defeated by antifascist forces, which also committed crimes. Such things happen in war. Crimes were also committed on our side during the last war here, although we were victims and were defending ourselves from brutal aggression. But the antifascist struggle made it possible for us to have Croatia today and no other options could have led to Croatia becoming independent."
"Anyone who thinks that by defending the NDH (the Nazi-style Independent State of Croatia) they were defending Croatia are totally mistaken, because it was neither independent nor a state," Mesic added.
Commenting on frequent suicides among Croatian war veterans, Mesic said that the best way of helping them would be to create jobs for them rather than promise them funds that often could not be secured.
Speaking of the Employers' Association's criticism of the government's economic policy, Mesic said that it was necessary to adopt a strategy for the development of the national economy in order to boost growth and ensure effective talks with the European Union.