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Foreign Minister Westerwelle welcomes progress report on Croatia's accession to the EU
Foreign Minister Westerwelle issued the following statement today (26 March) in reaction to the publication of the European Commission’s progress report on Croatia’s planned accession to the EU in July 2013:
I welcome the fact that in its detailed and balanced report the European Commission has come to the conclusion that Croatia now fulfils all the conditions to become a member of the European Union in July.
I am confident that in its debates about German approval of Croatian accession the German Bundestag will take due consideration of the Commission’s positive assessment.
No special concessions were made for Croatia in the accession negotiations. It is important, however, that the Croatian Government declared that it will continue with its reform efforts even after accession.
Background:
This morning in Zagreb European Union Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle presented the last monitoring report on Croatia’s progress on its path to EU membership. The enlargement of the EU to include Croatia as its 28th member is set to take place on 1 July 2013. Before then all EU member states are obliged to ratify the accession treaty with Croatia. In Germany approval from both the Bundestag and the Bundesrat is required.
