Croatian President: the country could join the EU by January 2013

Croatia’s president says the country could join the EU by January 2013, calling this an “ambitious, yet attainable goal”.

“It’s very ambitious, because we are very close to concluding the negotiations. It takes a couple of months to prepare the treaties for signing, which will be followed by a possibly lengthy process of ratification because some countries have even longer procedures in their parliaments,” Josipovic told reporters in Zagreb on Saturday.

Top EU officials visiting Zagreb on Thursday said they would not predict Croatia’s accession date, but praised the country’s efforts and pointed to areas in need of reform. The country hopes to wrap up its accession talks by June, a goal supported by Hungary, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency.