"We have never had the opportunity before to hear what we did yesterday. An official person, a spokeswoman who wasn't speaking on her behalf but on her boss' behalf, accused the Croatian government of protecting within its borders the killers of Croatian dissidents," Milanovic said responding to questions from the press in Varazdin.

"Not only is that unfounded and incorrect, but it is beneath any level of communication. That's no way to talk even with an enemy. To accuse the government in a state which advocates constitutional changes, that is lifting the statute of limitations and solving the issue of political murders by ourselves in Croatia, handling such matters by ourselves - that's called protection of communist killers. The person who said that apparently hasn't read the European Arrest Warrant (EAW), which is her basic job," said Milanovic.

Andreeva told the media on Monday that the European Commission deeply regretted that Croatia did not respond to a request by Commission Vice President and Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding as well as the fact that Croatia's national legislation was changed a few days before European Union accession and that it was in breach of the EU law on the EAW.

Croatia's move means that several criminals suspected of the murder of Croatian dissidents in another European country during the communist regime can continue to hide behind Croatian borders, which is why Vice President Reding will inform the entire Commission about this matter next week and propose actions under Article 39 of Croatia's Accession Treaty, as she indicated in her letter to the Croatian minister of justice, said Andreeva.

Milanovic said he would discuss yesterday's "incident" with his colleagues in the EU and the European Commission members. "Yesterday's statement wouldn't worry me so much if the vocabulary wasn't identical to the vocabulary of the opposition in Croatia, and we are talking about the same political option both here and there."

"This is still a case about which nobody in Europe knows anything and which doesn't attract anyone's attention, apart from us in Croatia and a smaller number of people in the Commission. Yesterday we heard that some in the Commission use the same vocabulary we hear from the political opponents in Croatia. Is this coincidental?"

Milanovic said the government had a clear plan regarding Croatia's EAW law and that it would be put forward in parliament in a couple of months.

He still thinks Croatia is not in any serious breach and "it's questionable if it's in breach at all." He said the EAW was a system that was applied in Europe in ten different ways in a very delicate area and that it was very irregular. He said the Czech Republic had had its own model for ten years, and that Croatia would like the same, and that it would change it only in a year.

"It's not a big deal, it's a matter of how we interpret things. We believe we are interpreting them properly. It's no crisis. This is a misunderstanding in which someone is flexing their muscles through the media. We have our position, the decision which was adopted by the government and endorsed by all ministries, and we also received parliament's endorsement."

Milanovic said he did not want to argue through the media with Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic, who believes Croatia's EAW law should be changed. "The government must function on the principle of loyalty, although everyone has the right to voice their opinion. Mrs Pusic and I voted identically on this matter a month ago."

In conclusion, he said the government had a plan that it would push through and that the big racket and the insults, even if coming from a part of the European Commission, would not cause it to waver.