(ZAGREB) - The European Parliament's rapporteur for Croatia, Hannes Swoboda, on Thursday praised the former Yugoslav republic's efforts in the return of Serb refugees from its 1991-1995 war.

"No other (Balkan) country that had been through a war has done so much regarding the issue of refugees and cooperation with The Hague tribunal" for war crimes, Swoboda said after meeting parliamentary speaker Luka Bebic.

Swoboda, heading a delegation of the European Parliament, visited Zagreb ahead of presenting his final report on Croatia.

"There are still some minor problems that need to be addressed, notably providing housing for refugees and witness protection," he added.

The rights and the return of ethnic Serbs who fled Croatia in the early 1990s is a key condition Zagreb has to meet before entering the European Union.

Some 280,000 Serbs took flight during the war in which Zagreb fought Belgrade-backed rebel Serbs who opposed independence. So far around 130,000 have returned.

Croatian Serb leader Milorad Pupovac recently said some 100,000 Serb refugees wanted to return to Croatia.

According to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Croatia has pledged to build 7,000 apartments for the Serb returnees by 2009.

The minority currently accounts for 4.5 percent of the country's 4.4 million population.

Zagreb has transferred all indictees to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which is not the case for other former Yugoslav republics.

Croatia hopes to join the European Union by the end of the decade.

"It is possible to finalise negotiations at the end of the year if all sides act quickly, thoroughly ... and (if) additional efforts are undertaken by all sides," Swoboda told journalists.

Reform of the judiciary, modernisation of public administration and fighting corruption are the key issues Zagreb has to address if it wants its EU bid to be successful, the European parliament delegation said.

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