"Chancellor Merkel's visit is very important because it confirms the excellent relations between Croatia and Germany. She comes at a time when Croatia has successfully completed its EU talks, when the signing of its accession treaty is expected and when the process of treaty ratification begins, to result in Croatia's joining the EU on 1 July 2013," Jandrokovic said in an interview in a late night news broadcast on Croatian Television.

Jandrokovic denied that relations between the two countries had been brought into question at the beginning of this year, stressing that they had been excellent during the whole time of EU talks and that Germany played an important and positive role in the crucial moment, when a decision was made on the completion of Croatia's EU talks.

The minister could not confirm the statement by the news broadcast's host that there had been a cooling of Croatian-German relations at the time when former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader stepped down or that it was Merkel who contributed to his resignation.

"I can't confirm anything of what you've said. We can only thank Germany for the support it gave us in the negotiating process, and today (German Foreign) Minister (Guido) Westerwelle said that Germany would be among the first countries to ratify our accession treaty."

Jandrokovic also commented on the case of the owner of the Serbian Pink TV station, Zeljko Mitrovic, who has started a media campaign against Croatia on his network after Croatian customs authorities confiscated his yacht.

"Croatia is a law-based country and everyone must respect its laws and institutions. Those who fail to do so should expect sanctions," the minister said.