Croatia to become European Union’s 28th member July 1

PanARMENIAN.Net - The European Commission has announced that Croatia will join the EU on July 1 this year. The country has implemented a string of reforms requested by Brussels, the latest report pointed to some work still outstanding, Deutsche Welle reported.

Brussels decided on Tuesday, March 26, that Croatia was ready to join the European Union later this year. Croatia will become the 28th member of the bloc, with a 15-page final report from the European Commission setting the date at July 1.

"The Commission concludes that Croatia will be ready to join the European Union on July 1, 2013," the report said, adding that Croatia "has shown the will and ability to fulfill all outstanding commitments in good time before accession."

Croatia first signed up as an official EU aspirant in December 2011; the European Commission has published regular progress reports since.

"Croatia is now a different country compared to at the start of the accession process," EU Expansion Commissioner Stefan Füle said after a meeting with the Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic in Zagreb.

Füle also praised Croatia for "working hard and keeping the reform tempo high" throughout the accession process.