Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said Friday he was confident that Croatia remains on track to join the European Union, even though Irish voters rejected the EU's reform pact, according to dpa. His remarks came after French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the EU would not be enlarged without the Lisbon Treaty. "There is a solution for Croatia," Sanader said at a cabinet meeting in the capital, Zagreb, although he did not elaborate. President Stjepan Mesic backed Sanader, his political rival: "If something was agreed, it must be implemented." Croatia is next in line to join the EU, ahead of the two other formal candidates, Macedonia and Turkey. Bosnia, Serbia, Albania and Montenegro also hope to join eventually. Zagreb has already opened 20 out of the 35 "negotiating chapters" with EU. Sanader told his ministers that he was expecting Croatia to open at least one more and possibly close two of the chapters. Zagreb hopes to conclude the talks in 2009 and join a year later. The Lisbon treaty is designed to speed up the EU's decision-making process and give it a stronger role in the world following its expansion to accommodate 27 countries, most lately Romania and Bulgaria in 2007. Irish voters rejected the treaty in a June 12 referendum, blocking it from coming into force in the EU as planned.
