Paul Gillespie interviewed Croatia's Prime Minister, Ivica Racan, in Dublin, on his country's application to join the European Union.
Membership of the European Union is a "strategic goal" for Croatia, according to Mr Ivica Racan, the country's Prime Minister. It would be far harder to achieve the standards and values involved outside the EU. He "deeply believes that without membership, countries cannot fulfil their competitive role in a globalised world."
Some 75 per cent of its people support this objective, which brings together the major development tasks Croatia faces after the civil and inter-state wars that followed the break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
These include democratisation, privatisation, combating corruption, regional co-operation and overcoming the destruction and aggression these wars brought to its peoples.
Mr Racan, a social democrat, leads a broad coalition with three other parties.
He was in Dublin to open an embassy here and for talks with the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, who offered Ireland's support for Croatian EU membership.
Mr Racan spoke of "striking" parallels with Ireland - of size, population, their struggles for independence, Catholic traditions, maritime orientations and annual tourism revenues of four billion dollars each (although "you have too much rain and we have too little").
While Croatia has much ground to make up in closing the economic gap with Ireland, growth remains strong and national income and purchasing power are on a par with other applicant states.
He expects a favourable response to Croatia's application during Ireland's EU presidency next year and would then aspire to join with Bulgaria and Romania by the end of 2006.
He hopes the EU "does not succumb to enlargement fatigue, nor we to reform fatigue" in the meantime.
He hopes to help the Irish presidency in dealing with south-east Europe next year. "It is important for its states to have a clear prospect of EU membership. Without that it is will be impossible to overcome the problems faced by Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia."
Three years ago his government decided to approximate EU legislation by 2006 and they are fully aware of how difficult a task this is. He wished he had more support from the opposition Croatian Democratic Union in such operational tasks as reforming the civil service and privatising without corruption.
There are certain specific problems to be faced, arising from the aftermath of war. Croatia has a particular duty to co-operate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) based in The Hague.
It must provide for the return of refugees, and to house them. His government has just decided to provide a one billion dollar budget for that, including allowing 100,000 Croatian Serbs to return. But he says it is unlikely 200,000 Bosnian Croats will return to Bosnia.
Pope John Paul II's five-day visit to Croatia last week delivered a universal message of tolerance, forgiveness and reconciliation to its people and their neighbours - "these simple words are difficult to realise in real life, but without them we cannot speak of Croatia's stability and security".
Croatia has come under pressure from the United States in recent weeks to sign a document immunising US personnel from prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
The European Union has written to candidate states asking them to resist such pressure and indicating that surrender would harm their prospects of joining.
Mr Racan says he hopes to convince the US that Croatia faces particular circumstances, given its commitment to the ICTY.
His government will not be able to sign such an exception and hopes to avoid US sanctions, such as the cancellation of military aid.