(ZAGREB) - Croatia said Friday it was confident about joining the European Union, despite France casting doubts on its accession due to the EU's troubled reform treaty.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Croati's planned entry was threatened by the impact of the stalled ratification of the Lisbon Treaty of EU reforms.

His Croatian counterpart, Stipe Mesic, stressed that his country's accession had already been approved by the EU's 27 member nations.

"If something has been agreed, if the countries have agreed, then it has to be implemented. So it will not impact on Croatia," said Mesic.

Croatia is set to become the EU's 28th member in 2010.

The Lisbon Treaty, soundly rejected in an Irish referendum last week, is designed to streamline the complicated work of EU institutions caused by its expansion from 15 to 27 members in the past four years.

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