Croatia says it’s ready for ‘new phase’ on EU path
EU membership expected in 2013
Croatian President Ivo Josipovic yesterday said his country was ready for a “new phase” on its path to EU membership amid rumours the European Commission would propose wrapping up accession talks.
“Croatia met (the EU’s) expectations to the fullest extent,” Mr Josipovic told national radio from Brussels.
“Of course, eventually it will be an assessment of EU member states, but I believe that it will be positive and that we will head into a new phase, a phase of concluding an accession treaty and process of (its) ratification,” by the bloc’s 27 member states, he said.
“I expect Croatia will obtain full-fledged EU membership in 2013.”
Mr Josipovic made the comments as EU sources in Brussels said that European Commission president José Manuel Barroso plans to recommend that EU states make Croatia the union’s 28th member.
The commission is the EU’s executive arm.
Meanwhile, Mr Barroso toldthe European Parliament in Strasbourg there would be “very good news on Friday” regarding Croatia’s EU progress. Croatia has concluded nearly all of the 35 policy chapters that aspiring members must negotiate before joining the EU. The EU-Croatia negotiations started in 2005.
The main remaining sticking points include reform of the judiciary, corruption, processing war crimes from the 1990s Balkans wars and restructuring ailing state-run shipyards.
EU states have the final word on whether to close the negotiations. If they accept the commission’s recommendation to wrap up the talks, an accession treaty will be drafted and ratified by the 27 EU states.