At the meeting of the Accession Conference with Croatia at Deputies level on 19 February in Brussels, two new chapters (Fisheries and Environmental policy) were opened in the country's negotiations with the EU.

The meeting was chaired by Ambassador Bastarreche, Permanent Representative of Spain, who led the European Union delegation, with Michael Leigh, Director General for Enlargement who represented the Commission.

Mr Leigh underlined that Croatia has now opened 30 and provisionally closed 17 chapters with the EU and that accession negotiations are progressing at a steady pace, and recalled that its 2009 Strategy Paper states that if Croatia meets all outstanding benchmarks, negotiations can be concluded in 2010