Malta on Monday ratified Croatia's European Union Accession Treaty, as the fifth of the EU's 27 members that have to do so before Croatia joins in mid-2013, the Croatian Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
The Maltese parliament unanimously ratified the Accession Treaty, the ministry said, recalling that the treaty had already been ratified by Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Italy.
Ambassador Tomislav Vidosevic visited Malta on Wednesday and Thursday, meeting with Speaker Michael Frendo and attending a parliamentary session which discussed the ratification.
Vidosevic also met with the spokesman of the opposition Labour Party, George W. Vella.
Frendo said he was very pleased with Croatia's upcoming EU accession and the fact that Malta would be among the first countries to ratify the Accession Treaty.
Vidosevic thanked him for Malta's support for Croatia's EU accession and for his engagement for a swift ratification of the treaty in the Maltese parliament.
The two officials also discussed possibilities of further bilateral cooperation, especially within the EU's Mediterranean dimension.
