Croatia scores good progress in meeting the accession negotiations benchmarks

Croatia has made good progress in meeting the benchmarks set in the accession negotiations. This surfaced today during the presentation of the EU 2009 enlargement strategy and progress reports for the countries from the Western Balkans and Turkey.

Negotiations have now formally resumed following the political agreement between Slovenia and Croatia over handling the border issue.

The European Commission assesses that Croatia will need to pursue its reform efforts, in particular on the judiciary and public administration, the fight against and organised crime, and minority rights.

If Croatia meets all outstanding benchmarks in time, the accession negotiations could be concluded next year.