CROATIA took a giant step towards European Union membership by winning a green light from Brussels to join in mid-2013, a move opening a fresh page in the history of the Balkans nation.

Pope Benedict XVI gave strong backing to Croatia’s bid to join the European Union as he arrived in the Balkan nation today.

Legal scholar and left-wing opposition candidate Ivo Josipovic won Croatia’s presidential election, upsetting the capital’s popular mayor and confirming the country’s pro-Western course.

A Social Democrat and Zagreb’s mayor will go head-to-head in the race to become Croatia’s president.