"I very warmly welcome today's announcement by the European Commission that Croatia has fulfilled the EU accession criteria on the remaining open issues. This opens the way for a quick decision by Member States to effectively conclude Croatian EU accession negotiations," said Gunnar Hökmark MEP, Vice-President of the EPP Group and Chairman of the EU-Croatia Joint Parliamentary Committee.

Today, the European Commission has given its green light to closing the four remaining Chapters, or policy areas, which still remained to be negotiated between the EU and Croatia.

"It was an especially daunting task to tackle the reforms in the judiciary and the fight against corruption, but the Croatian authorities have proven to be up to the challenge. I commend the Croats for what they have done in the last two years, because entering 2009 only 5 policy areas had been fully negotiated. This proves that the faith of the European Parliament in the Croatian leadership has been justified," added Hökmark.

"The conclusion of Croatian accession negotiations is good news for Croatia, whose accession we welcome, for the region, who we expect to follow in Croatia's footsteps, and for the EU, which has demonstrated that, even in times of introspection, it is capable of keeping its doors open," highlighted the EPP Group Vice-Chairman.

"Croatia is proof that the new model of enlargement, reinforced with a rigorous bencmarking system, is effective. If applied with the same rigour, it silences those sceptics that would wish to claim that the EU is tired of enlargement," said Hökmark.

"I am looking forward to Croatian EU entry on 1 July 2013 and I expect all necessary procedures will be concluded by that time. The European Parliament is ready to move quickly with consent to the Croatian EU accession," concluded Gunnar Hökmark MEP