Brussels, 10/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - As we announced (EUROPE 10393), the Commission on Friday 10 June recommended to the member states that they conclude the accession negotiations with Croatia and accept the country as the 28th member on 1 July 2013. “Today, the Commission has completed its negotiations with Croatia. That means that, as far as the Commission is concerned, the work is completed”, Commissioner Stefan Füle told the press. The Commission takes the opinion that the country has now fulfilled all the criteria (closing benchmarks) for the four outstanding chapters to be closed: budget, justice and fundamental freedoms, competition, miscellaneous. “Now it is up to the member states to make the final evaluation of the negotiations and decide whether the negotiations can be officially concluded and the Accession Treaty signed”, he said, stressing that the Commission was “confident” that this would be the case. The Commission will continue to work with Zagreb right up to the time of accession, to ensure that the commitments taken by the Croatian government in terms of implementing the Community acquis are properly respected on the ground, said Füle. The president of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso, congratulated the Croatian government and people on this “historical” success. Since accession talks opened in 2005, the Commission has negotiated “firmly but fairly”, always insisting on full respect for the criteria for the various chapters to be opened and closed, Barroso stressed. The Croatian president, Ivo Josipovic, spoke of a “great day for Croatia”. The Croatian prime minister, Jadranka Kosor, promised to continue on the “path of reforms”. (H.B./transl.fl)