The European Commission wants Croatia to join the European Union on 1 July 2013, the German daily Welt am Sonntag said on Sunday, citing senior diplomatic sources in Brussels.
According to the Commission's wish, Croatia should join the EU as its 28th member on 1 July 2013, the daily said, citing high-ranking EU diplomats
The European Commission should use that date in planning the Union's budget, the newspaper said.
EU countries want to complete by the end of June the accession negotiations with Croatia, launched in October 2005, Welt am Sonntag said, adding EU foreign ministers would discuss the matter in Brussels on Monday.
Diplomats have stressed that reforms in Croatia must be fully carried out before accession, which was not the case with Romania and Bulgaria, the daily said, adding that France, Belgium and the Netherlands currently have the most doubts about this process.
