European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek on Friday joined in congratulations to Croatia at the ceremony of signing of the country's Treaty of Accession to the European Union, praising Croatia for having done a great job on its road towards the EU.
EC President Barroso said that today was a great achievement for Croatia, adding that Europe was paying tribute to Croatia, its people and its leaders for being committed to the joint European goal.
He said that Croatia had met strict conditions and was now a different country from the one that applied for EU membership 10 years ago.
Croatia is the best proof of the transformative power and success of our enlargement policy, Barroso said.
European Parliament President Buzek expressed hope that the support which Croatia had received in the European Parliament last week when MEPs gave a green light to Croatia as the 28th EU member, would be repeated in Croatia's EU entry referendum.
Buzek said he was looking forward to hearing the Croatian language as the 24th official language at the parliament's plenary sessions.
Both Barroso and Buzek said that the admission of Croatia to the EU did not mean the end of EU enlargement and that the example of Croatia sent a clear signal to other countries in the region.
Despite the crisis, our goals remain the same, Barroso said.
Buzek said that Croatia was a model to other countries in the region.
