The European Commission on Wednesday adopted a provisional report on Croatia's progress in meeting additional criteria (so-called benchmarks) in the policy area No. 23, Judiciary and Fundamental Rights, which leaves open the possibility of the country completing its EU entry talks in June, by the end of Hungary's EU presidency.
The report adopted by the Commission today is very clear. Excellent progress has been made and the government should be commended for it because this is a very important, difficult and demanding area, EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said on Wednesday.
Fuele said that the goal of completing the accession talks in June was a very ambitious one, and that Croatia would need to double its efforts to meet requirements in a certain number of benchmarks for that policy area.
The ball is in Croatia's court and this report does not close the door as far as deadlines are concerned, Fuele said when asked if Croatia could complete the talks in June.
