Next week the Croatian government is submitting a final report on Chapter 23 and we hope that the European Commission will decide that we have done a good job. I am confident that we will conclude the negotiations by the end of June, Kosor said at a joint press conference after the meeting.

Tusk said he was quite certain that Croatia was moving at a good pace towards EU membership.

If everything goes well, June will be important for the completion of the negotiations, and the best moment will be the signing of the accession treaty. It only takes a little more effort, said Tusk, whose country takes over the six-month rotating EU presidency on July 1.

Tusk said that Poland need not convince anyone in Brussels that Croatia belonged to the European Union.

I don't know any European politician who would question Croatia's accession to the EU, although there are European capitals where Croatia is slightly less liked, the Polish prime minister said.

Kosor said she explained to her guest the importance of the EU entry negotiations being wrapped up in June, adding that Croatia was celebrating the 20th anniversary of its independence then.

The two prime ministers also discussed economic cooperation. In the first quarter of this year, trade between Croatia and Poland went up by 24 per cent, with Croatian exports increasing by 47 per cent. Four Polish-Croatian economic forums are due to be held in Poland this year.

The number of Polish tourists who visited Croatia in 2010 was 9 per cent higher than in 2009.

Kosor invited Tusk to attend the Croatia Summit in Dubrovnik in early July. She announced that she would soon travel to Katowice for the European Economic Forum.

After the talks, the two prime ministers took a walk through central Zagreb and were due to attend a celebration of Europe Day in Cvjetni Trg square.