EP-commissie Buitenlandse Zaken steunt EU-lidmaatschap Kroatië (en)

Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs backed Croatia’s EU membership bid in a vote on Thursday. Croatia could become the EU’s twenty-eighth Member State on 1 July 2013, subject to the consent of the full Parliament.

The proposal, tabled by Hannes Swoboda i (S&D, AT), on granting Parliament’s consent to Croatia joining the European Union was passed with 65 votes in favour, 1 vote against and no abstentions. The next step will be the consent vote of the full Parliament, after which the Croatia's EU accession treaty can be signed and ratified by all 27 Member States. Croatia is expected to join the EU on 1 July 2013.

"Today's vote means that now the way is free for Croatia to join the EU. We expect a vast majority of the full Parliament to support our decision. This will also be a clear message for the citizens of Croatia. Of course, reforms have to be continued, especially in the fields of the judiciary and integration of refugees. We also expect the ratification process in Member States to be very smooth", said Mr Swoboda after the vote.

In an accompanying non-binding report, also by Mr Swoboda, adopted with 61 votes in favour, 2 votes against and 3 abstentions, MEPs welcome the conclusion of the accession negotiations, encourage Croatians to turn out for the EU referendum and vote for the accession treaty, and call on Member States to complete the ratification process in a timely manner. Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs look forward to receiving Croatian observers in Parliament .

MEPs underline that they will follow the pre-accession monitoring process, and ask the Commission to keep Parliament abreast of the extent to which the Croatian authorities honour the commitments made in the negotiations.

While acknowledging Croatia’s preparedness for accession, MEPs invite Zagreb to tackle remaining challenges, especially in the field of the judiciary, and the fight against corruption and organised crime.

The Committee urges Croatia to step up its efforts to prosecute war crimes, comply with all International Criminal Tribunal recommendations for the former Yugoslavia and  encourage the return of war refugees, especially Serbs.

Finally, MEPs call on Croatia to continue structural reforms of the economy, stimulate employment by reviving the labour market, and pursue fiscal consolidation in order to boost competitiveness.

The plenary vote (Parliament's consent) is scheduled for 1 December.