After the meeting, PM Milanovic told a news conference that in the past the Council of Europe had had the full right to exert pressure on Croatia to compel it to raise human rights standards, and Croatia eventually made use of that situation in its efforts to come closer to European Union membership.

You mentioned the pressure from the European Union, that is our job, and you have profited from that, Jagland said adding that embracing the standards from the European convention on human rights was a prerequisite for EU membership.

The Norwegian politician also pushed for the continuation of the struggle against corruption and to invest more efforts to make the judiciary more efficient and to ensure freedom of media.

He praised Croatia for its firm stance in relation to hate speech, and added that Croatia can be a very good example for all of Europe.

Jagland also spoke about the importance of protecting minorities, especially now in the times of economic crisis which have led to new tensions.

Milanovic informed the CoE official of the models for the election of representatives of ethnic minorities in Croatia.

At the end of the news conference, Milanovic extended apologies to "Azeri friends" after he recently, when he had been provoked by protestors against the visit of Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev to Zagreb, had stated that Azerbaijan was not a democracy but that protests in Zagreb were unfair and unjust.

"My apologies to the Azeri friends," Milanovic said today admitting that he had made a mistake and that his words had been misused.

"I did not criticise Azerbaijan, but I expressed full understanding for the situation in which that country is," Milanovic said today.

Azerbaijan is a democratic county but my previous comment meant that it had not yet reached Scandinavian standards and neither has Croatia, Milanovic said today.

Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko also received Jagland later on Friday

According to a press release from the Office of Sabor Speaker, Leko said Croatia's progress in building democratic society was recognised by the Council of Europe and the European Union.

Jagland positively assessed the work of Croatia's delegation to the Council of Europe.