Brussels gives Croatia green light to EU membership in 2013
BRUSSELS: The European Commission on Friday gave Croatia a green light to join the European Union in mid 2013, a move that will turn a new page in the history of the Balkans nation.
"Today is a historic day for Croatia and the European Union," said Jose-Manuel Barroso, president of the EU executive.
Barroso said Croatia had successfully completed six years of tough negotiations to gain entry to the bloc as its 28th member.
He recommended closing the final four of 35 chapters that aspiring members must negotiate in order to gain EU entry -- reforming political, economic, social and judicial spheres in line with EU standards.
"This paves the way for Croatia to join the EU as the 28th member state as of 1 July 2013," he added.
The next step will be for EU leaders to offer their official rubber stamp at a summit June 23-24.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011
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