EU agrees on Croatia membershipJune 24, 2011 - 16:53 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday, June 24, that European leaders had agreed they want Croatia to become a member of the EU. "We have agreed on accession for Croatia," Merkel said at the conclusion of a two-day EU summit in Brussels. Merkel says Croatia had significant gaps in March but those have been worked out, so there was no reason to delay accession. "There are no reservations, as we had with Bulgaria and Romania," she said, AP reported. A draft summit conclusion had said talks on Croatia's membership should be concluded this month and an accession treaty signed by December. The parliaments of all 27 members will then have to ratify the document, a process expected to last until June 2013, when Croatia will formally be inducted into membership. Croatia, which started membership talks in 2005, will become the second former Yugoslav nation to join, following Slovenia. The last members to join the EU were Romania and Bulgaria, in 2007. Other West Balkans states - Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia and Montenegro - are all in various stages of the accession process. Leading the way is tiny Montenegro, which gained formal candidate status last December. It is expected to join in the next round of enlargement expected in 2015 or 2016. Each candidate nation must successfully negotiate 35 negotiating "chapters" - areas in which they must enact EU rules and legislation - before they can be cleared for membership. Most chapters deal with economic issues linked to the bloc's complex set of internal market rules, which form the basis of EU economic policies, but others cover areas such as human rights, the independence of the judiciary and anti-corruption measures. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | U.S. believes peace is “possible” in South Caucasus The United States continues to believe that peace is possible in the South Caucasus, Vedant Patel said. Government reveals details from Pashinyan’s meeting in border village Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with a group of residents of a border village in Armenia’s northern Tavush province Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. |