(BRUSSELS) - Croatia took a further step towards EU membership on Monday with the opening of another two of the 35 policy chapters which candidate nations must successfully negotiate, the EU presidency announced Monday.

With the opening of talks on the energy and transport sectors, Croatia has now opened 18 of the 35 chapters, thus keeping it in prime position to become the 28th member of the European Union by 2010.

The EU set out the main isues on transport and energy which Croatia must address before the chapters can be successfully closed.

On transport these included establishing a "competent and effective" railway regulatory body and ratifying the European Common Aviation Area agreement.

On energy, Croatia was charged with bringing its coal-mining regulations up to EU standards and setting "an ambitious target" for the percentage of electricity produced from renewable energy sources, in line with European Union goals.

Several more policy chapters -- four perhaps -- could be opened in June, said a spokeswoman for the EU's Slovenian presidency.

France, which will assume the EU's rotating presidency in July, has already said it intends to keep up the momentum with Croatia.

The EU eventually foresees the whole of the Western Balkans, including Serbia and Kosovo, joining the bloc.

Slovenia itself became the first Balkans country to do so when it joined the EU in 2004, along with nine other mainly ex-communist states.

Croatia began official membership talks in October 2005, at the same time as Turkey, but is now much further down the road towards acceptance than Ankara.

Nevertheless Zagreb will still have to undergo some difficult reforms in order to comply with EU standards, especially in the areas of judicial reform, public administration and the fight against corruption.

Last week rights group Amnesty International argued that Croatia should not be allowed into the European club until it ends impunity for war crimes, related to the 1991-95 war.

Croatia's proclamation of independence from the old Yugoslav federation in 1991 sparked the four-year conflict with rebel Serbs who opposed the move.

The war left some 20,000 people dead.

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