Martens told reporters during a recess of the conference "Croatia in the EU" he was confident that Croatia was in a period of adopting critical decisions, adding that his party had a great influence on the EU, given that the presidents of the European Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament all come from the ranks of the EPP.

We will do everything we can to back Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor and her government in efforts to positively wrap up the accession talks and I am confident that Kosor will be the first Croatian prime minister to sit on the European Council, Martens said.

PM Kosor told reporters that Martens's message was "a new strong support to the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), the ruling coalition and to her personally in the continuation of the implementation of very demanding reforms necessary for Croatia to wrap up the entry talks and become the 28th member of the European Union."

Kosor added that in its last report, the European Commission had recognised the efforts the Croatian government was making.

Speaking at the conference, Martens said that from the political and cultural points of view, Croatia belonged to Europe, adding that EU admission did not end with joining the bloc, but that the political process continued even after that.