Croatia's PM expects EU to confirm end of accession talks

(ZAGREB) - Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said on Thursday she expected a summit of EU leaders to confirm that Zagreb could end accession talks at the end of this month and join the bloc in 2013.

"I expect the confirmation of the European Council that Croatia will wrap up (accession) talks by the end of June and become the union's 28th member," Kosor told journalists, quoted by HINA news agency.

She said the move, expected to be reached on Friday during the summit of EU leaders, would be the "biggest reward for the anniversary of independence."

Croatia on Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of independence from the former Yugoslavia.

Kosor spoke just before leaving for Brussels where she was to meet top EU leaders Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso.

Croatia earlier this month took a giant step towards membership when it won approval from the EU executive, the European Commission, to join in mid-2013.

The commission said that after six tough years of talks, Zagreb had finally made sufficient progress on meeting stringent conditions to join the bloc.

Croatia would be the second of the six former Yugoslav republics to become an EU member after Slovenia which joined in 2004.