The United States expects that Croatia will wrap up its accession negotiations with the European Union this year so that it could join the Union at the start of 2012, the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Philip Gordon, said at a congressional subcommittee hearing in Washington on Wednesday.
The time frame will probably hinge on whether Croatia will maintain its pace of reform, including cooperation with the Hague-based UN tribunal (ICTY) and its current commitment to the anti-corruption drive, Gordon said.
He said that the United States was closely following and encouraging efforts aimed at solving the Slovenian-Croatian border dispute so that the current and future EU aspirants would not be discouraged by unresolved bilateral disputes.
Gordon also attached great importance to attempts to solve other bilateral disputes in the region, including the Macedonia-Greece dispute over the former's name.
Gordon said that the Western Balkans region was crucial for the future of Europe and that therefore it was in the focus of the permanent and strong engagement of the Obama administration.
He said that the progress made in the region over the past decade was the proof of the strength of the steady external involvement, internal political reforms and Euro-Atlantic integration processes.
Speaking of the progress, Gordon cited the admission of Albania and Croatia to NATO in 2009 as well as the admission of other countries in the region to NATO's Membership Action Plan and Partnership for Peace programmes.
He cited a lack of political compromise in Bosnia-Herzegovina, further stabilisation of Kosovo and attempts to solve the Greece-Macedonia dispute as the three major challenges in the region.
Gordon said that the Western Balkan countries could count on strong support from Washington in their Euro-Atlantic integration.
