The lower house of the Austrian Parliament ratified Croatia's Treaty of Accession with the European Union at its session on Wednesday which was also attended by Croatian Parliament Deputy Speaker Josip Leko.
The ratification was supported by 152 of the 159 deputies present at the session. The Austrian lower house has 183 deputies.
We congratulate you on the ratification of the treaty and welcome Croatia as the future 28th member of the bloc, deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister Michael Spindelegger said in his address.
He urged Croatia not to forget to meet the last remarks from the European Commission's report in April regarding the judiciary and the fight against corruption and organised crime so that the plan on Croatia's joining the EU on 1 July 2013 could be carried out.
Spindelegger stressed Croatia was an example for other countries of the region.
After the lower house, the treaty is to be upheld by the upper house which is expected on Friday
Austria is the 11th EU member to ratify Croatia's EU accession treaty.
Leko, who visited Vienna in his capacity as acting Croatian Parliament Speaker, also held talks with Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann, who also attended today's session of the lower house.
