France pledges support for Croatia's EU bid
(ZAGREB) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged his country's support for Croatia's bid to join the European Union in a letter Tuesday congratulating Ivo Josipovic on his election as president.
Josipovic, a law professor from the opposition Social Democrats, won Sunday's vote on a pledge to fight corruption, a key criteria for joining the European bloc.
"Croatia's entry in the EU will be a historic moment for your country and the whole Europe and it will be also a factor of stability and a sign of hope for the whole region," Sarkozy said in a letter released by the French embassy.
He pledged "France's full support" for Croatia's bid for EU membership. Zagreb is hoping to become EU's 28th member by January 2012.
Josipovic, 52, won the run-off election with more than 60 percent of the votes, and vowed to transform the former Yugoslav republic into a "star" of Europe.
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