Croatia to join EU by 2013

CROATIA is set to become the second country of the former Yugoslavia to join the European Union and become the 28th member state in two years.

The mainly Catholic country with a population similar to Ireland’s has been negotiating membership for seven years.

But rows over its failure to co-operate fully with the Hague Tribunal prosecuting war criminals from the Bosnian war in the early 90’s, and battles over borders with its former Yugoslavian colleague, Slovenia, delayed the process.

The country did not get a definite date for accession, mainly because Britain and the Netherlands argued that pressure should be maintained on the Balkan country to meet the tough standards demanded by the EU.

There have been problems in relation to trafficking of people and goods, and about the independence of their judiciary and public sector fraud.

However, it is generally accepted that they will be formally admitted to the EU on July 1, 2013. The treaty admitting them will also ratify the provisions attached to the Lisbon Treaty for Ireland, giving undertakings on neutrality, tax and abortion.

The country most likely to become the 29th EU member is Iceland, which applied in 2009 following the collapse of its economy.

The country, with a population of less than 500,000 but with big fishing and natural resources, has adopted much of the EU legislation as a member of the European Free Trade area.