The referendum on Croatia's accession to the European Union is an important step in the last stage of the country's accession process, and if successful, the process of ratification of the accession treaty will start in Croatia and in the member states so that Croatia can become an EU member on 1 July 2013, a spokesman for the EU enlargement commissioner said on Friday.
"This referendum will show how people of Croatia feel about their country joining the EU, and if they see the future of their country in the united Europe," spokesman Peter Stano said in Brussels.
"We are confident that Croatia is ready to join in July 2013. Croatia is the first candidate to have completed accession negotiations in line with a new negotiating methodology, which reflects the lessons learnt from previous enlargements and which includes, for instance, a systematic use of benchmarks in assessing progress in all areas," he added.
Stano said that Croatia's accession process already now served as encouragement to other countries in the region and was "proof of the transformative power of EU enlargement."
