Swoboda hails final Commission approval of Croatia accession

The S&D Group in the European Parliament welcomed the European Commission’s final green light for Croatia to join the European Union on 1 July 2013. The last Commission monitoring report concluded Croatia was now fully ready to join the EU.

Hannes Swoboda, president of the S&D Group and former European Parliament negotiator on Croatia, said:

„I am pleased that the Croatian government has fulfilled all the requirements to join the European Union on 1 July this year. However it is essential that after the formal accession process ends, the tasks of fighting corruption and strengthening the rule of law will continue.

„I sincerely hope that following discussions between Slovenia and Croatia on specific bilateral issues, the formal ratification will proceed smoothly.“

On the subject of the European Parliamentary elections in Croatia in mid-April, Hannes Swoboda added:

„When Croatia becomes a full member on 1 July, it will also have full representation in the European Parliament, the only directly elected body of the European Union. I therefore hope that the Croatian people will take the opportunity to turn out in high numbers when they vote for their MEPs on 14 April.“