By Desmond Hinton-Beales - 10th June 2011
Croatia has turned into a major democracy based on the rule of law
Štefan Füle
Today is a historic day for Croatia and for the European Union.
José Manuel Barroso
Despite the financial and economic crisis, we have to give our full support to Croatia and other candidate countries
Mercedes Bresso
European enlargement and neighbourhood policy commissioner Štefan Füle has announced that Croatia has completed its EU accession negotiations.
Füle said that it is now "up to the member states to make a final evaluation" and then a decision can be made on the signing of the accession treaty.
He told reporters on Friday that the EU was "confident it will happen" and that Croatia has taken an "irreversible course of action".
"This is a very important moment," he said, and comes at the end of a long journey that has resulted in "tremendous" changes in Croatia.
"Croatia has turned into a major democracy based on the rule of law", said Füle, adding that although this was not just because of EU negotiations, the process had acted as a catalyst.
The commissioner said that Croatian citizens should be proud of what they have achieved and that the route was "painful, but worth it".
It would not just bring social and economic gains, but a "sense of belonging", he said.
He added, "Enlargement is the most successful EU policy. [This will be]… a tremendous signal to the rest of the western Balkans."
The commissioner also said that Croatia would be monitored using a "multifaceted" system until its accession, but offered reassurances that the commission's previous issues with the Balkan state in its progress report had been resolved.
European commission president José Manuel Barroso said, "Today is a historic day for Croatia and for the European Union."
Barroso said that the decision to close the last four accession chapters "paves the way for Croatia to join the EU as the 28th member state as of 1 July 2013", if the council agrees to the commission's proposed timescale.
"This is also in the EU's self-interest", said Barroso and "shows that enlargement works, that the EU is serious about its commitment".
European parliament president Jerzy Buzek praised the development, saying that the institution "welcomes Croatia with open arms".
"European integration helps to overcome the divisions of the past. Croatia is now a role model for the entire region," he said.
Committee of the Regions (CoR) president Mercedes Bresso also welcomed the decision, saying "Despite the financial and economic crisis, we have to give our full support to Croatia and other candidate countries so that the dynamics of the European integration process will be maintained."
Bresso pledged CoR support to help Croatia's local and regional authorities in their decentralisation and administrative reforms.
Chair of the EU-Croatia joint parliamentary committee Gunnar Hökmark said that the accession negotiations had been a "daunting task" but the "Croatian authorities have proven to be up to the challenge".
"Croatia is proof that the new model of enlargement, reinforced with a rigorous benchmarking system, is effective.
"If applied with the same rigour, it silences those sceptics that would wish to claim that the EU is tired of enlargement," said Hökmark..
