The director for accession candidates at the European Commission's Enlargement Directorate General, Alexandra Cas Granje, said in Zagreb on Friday that the European Union will not set a date for Croatia's EU entry until the very end of the negotiations as past experience has taught it that setting a date too early could affect the pace of the negotiations.
The date will not be set until the very end of the negotiations, Cas Granje said at the conference "Learning Europe - Challenges of Training on EU funds", organised by the Croatian Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry and the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
Cas Granje expressed understanding for Croatia's difficulties in managing European funds, stressing there were two key problems: establishing administrative capacities and drawing up good projects.
The IPA pre-accession fund has helped Croatia's development, Cas Granje said, adding that the structural and cohesion funds that will be available to Croatia once the country joins the EU will ensure much more money, which is why they will require good preparation.
The conference was also addressed by the chair of the National Committee monitoring Croatia's EU entry talks, Vesna Pusic, a state secretary at the Croatian Foreign Ministry, Andrej Plenkovic, a state secretary in the Central Office for Development Strategy and EU Funds Coordination, Hrvoje Dolenec, and a representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Reinhard Wessel.
