EU ready to set date for Croatia to join bloc / Croatia wins green light for EU membership

Article reported that Croatia would take a big step towards becoming the European Union’s 28th member state when it won approval on the 10 June 2011 from the European Commission for accession, with a target date of July 1 2013.

José Manuel Barroso, European Commission President, closed six years of talks between Brussels and Zagreb with a recommendation to the EU’s existing members to expand the bloc for the first time since 2007.

European Commission: RAPID: MEMO/11/397: Statement by President Barroso on Croatia – Commission proposes to close the last 'Chapters' in the accession talks http://www.delhrv.ec.europa.eu/files/file/BarosoStatementEN.pdf

European Commission: RAPID: MEMO/11/399: Statement by Commissioner Füle on the occasion of the recommendation by the Commission to close the remaining chapters with Croatia http://www.delhrv.ec.europa.eu/files/file/FuleStatementEN.pdf

BBC News, 10.6.11: Croatia cleared for EU membership in 2013 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13725558

Deutsche Welle, 10.6.11: Croatia gets green light for EU accession http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15144919,00.html

European Commission: Speech/11/476: José Manuel Durão Barroso http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/11/476&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

ESO: Background information: Confusion reigns on Croatia's last stretch to EU http://www.europeansources.info/record/confusion-reigns-on-croatias-last-stretch-to-eu/

http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/countries/detailed-country-information/croatia/index_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/countries/detailed-country-information/croatia/index_en.htm

EUObserver, 7.6.11: Croatia to complete EU entry talks in two weeks http://euobserver.com/9/32450

European Commission: RAPID: MEMO/11/386: Statement by President Barroso on the accession talks with Croatia http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/11/386&format=PDF&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

EurActiv, 7.6.11: Croatia to close EU talks 'in matter of weeks' http://www.euractiv.com/en/enlargement/croatia-close-eu-talks-matter-weeks-news-505415

Novi List, 13.6.11: Still a long road to Europe (via PressEurop) http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/709671-still-long-road-europe

EUObserver, 10.6.11: Croatia gets EU green light, despite lack of reforms http://euobserver.com/9/32474

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