You're reading: Croatia ready to join European Union in 2013

Croatia cleared a crucial hurdle on its path to European Union membership on Friday, with the EU executive recommending that its accession talks be finalised and an entry date set for mid-2013.

"The European Commission has just proposed … to close the last four chapters in the accession negotiations with Croatia," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a statement.

"This paves the way for Croatia to join the EU as the 28th member state as of July 1, 2013," he said.