Zagreb, 17 February: President Stjepan Mesic says in an interview with Friday's 18 February Vjesnik he is confident Croatia will start European Union negotiations on 17 March as scheduled, and that "we have more and more evidence that General Ante Gotovina is not in Croatia". Asked what could be done in the next 30 days, Mesic said that "firstly, we must provide evidence that we've done everything to prosecute those who harboured fugitives in the past, and secondly, we must provide evidence that we've done everything to locate General Gotovina if he is in Croatia, or any evidence that he is outside Croatia". Mesic says the consequences of not joining the EU within the planned deadlines would be big for Croatia because the use of structural funds given to new members upon admission would be prolonged, the economic revival and overall development would be stopped, and Croatia would be deprived of new capital and technology.