Croatia’s EU accession talks will probably last until the second half of the year

Croatia’s negotiations for EU accession are very unlikely to be completed by mid 2011, and will probably drag on into the fall.

Contrary to the hopes of the Hungarian EU Presidency that it will be able to complete Croatia’s EU accession talks by June 2011 when its term expires, it is becoming increasingly clear that the negotiations will continue under the Polish EU Presidency in the second half of the year.

Because of Croatia’s EU accession talks, the government and the opposition have made a “truce”, with the opposition committing not to demand early elections, while PM Jadranka Kosor promising to schedule elections as soon as the negotiations are completed.

Over the past months a number of Croatian cities have been seen protest rallies against corruption and the lack of reforms, with demands for early elections.