The European Commission on Friday took Croatia one step closer to becoming the European Union's 28th member state, by suggesting that the negotiations over its accession be closed, according to dpa. "Today is a historic day for Croatia and for the European Union," Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a statement. "I would like to congratulate the people of Croatia. Joining the EU family of nations is first and foremost your success." The proposal to end the accession talks - launched in 2005 - will now be considered by EU member states, who will have the final say on when the membership talks should end. They will also have to approve the accession treaty once it is signed. "We are confident that this will happen because negotiations have been in depth and substantial," EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule said. The treaty will also have to receive a seal of approval from the European Parliament and Croatian voters, who will weigh in through a referendum. Croatian support for EU membership plummeted in April following a UN tribunal ruling against two former Croatian generals for war crimes committed against Serbs in 1995, but has since come back up. EU officials have said that the approval process is expected to take around 18 months. Barroso spoke of a July 1, 2013 accession. During the membership negotiations, EU applicants have to bring their laws into line with the bloc's rules in 35 areas, or chapters. The accession talks helped make Croatia a "mature democracy based on the rule of law and into a functioning market economy," Fule said. Croatia's progress on judicial matters had been watched especially closely to avoid a repetition of the experience with Bulgaria and Romania, which were let into the EU in 2007 despite glaring deficiencies in the field. Fule specifically mentioned the work done on war crimes and corruption. Croatia has for instance issued an arrest warrant for former prime minister Ivo Sanader on corruption charges. EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said she "didn't believe last year that Croatians could do it." "But in one year's time they completely reformed their judiciary and made it irreversible," she said as she arrived for a justice ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on Friday. "They are on track and we can give with a very calm and good heart a 'Yes, Croatia.'" The thumbs up does, however, come with a caveat. Croatia will undergo "monitoring" until its accession to make sure that it fulfills its commitments - particularly in the justice field, where progress reports will be submitted every six months, Fule said. It will be the first accession candidate to face such a process. Fule noted that the judicial chapter "is one of those where it is not only important to adopt a certain legislation or create an institution." "A track record is necessary," he said. "We are confident that Croatia has reached critical mass, has moved forward in such a way that progress is sustainable ... But also this track record has to be continued." As part of the monitoring system, "warning letters" can be sent to Croatia if it fails to make progress, Fule said. Other officials have indicated that the accession date could be pushed back if the country started to fall short. But Fule said he has "absolutely no reasons to doubt about a continuing commitment of Croatia to deliver." Hungary, which currently holds the EU presidency, had made it a priority to conclude Croatia's accession talks by the end of June. Fule and Barroso both said they hope the move will provide an impetus for other Balkan countries to step up their reform efforts and attain EU membership. Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia all want to join the bloc, but their accession processes have been marred by various political problems. Fule nevertheless said he sees "a prospect still later this year" for the commission to grant candidate status to and potentially even recommend the start of accession negotiations with some of those countries - "if the work is being done."
