The government on Thursday said it was satisfied with the European Commission's Progress Report on Croatia and that it was confident that the accession negotiations will wrap up in 2011 and that Croatia will soon join the European Union as its 28th member.

The government is satisfied with the Progress Report and thanks the European Commission for its support so far, for its advice, assistance and cooperation during the accession talks, said a statement read out by Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor at the start of today's government meeting.

The government, noting that Croatia has provisionally closed 25 negotiation chapters, is confident that the negotiations will wrap up in 2011 and that Croatia will soon join the Union as the 28th member, and entrusts the negotiating team and all ministries involved to continue working towards the closing of the remaining chapters in accordance with the closing benchmarks and the European Commission's recommendations, said the statement.

The latest Progress Report shows that Croatia is meeting the Copenhagen Criteria and that it is a functioning market economy, notes Croatia's progress in all negotiation areas, and concludes that Croatia is on the right track to meeting all the criteria stemming from the EU acquis communautaire, the statement said, adding that the Progress Report also underlined that Croatia had improved its ability to assume membership commitments and that the level of alignment with EU rules was high in most areas.

Such assessments make us happy and encourage us, as they show that all the efforts Croatia has invested in the negotiations and the reforms have been recognised. At the same time, the Progress Report states that the negotiations are in their final stage. We are also pleased to note the European Commission's praise of Croatia's active role and accomplishments in regional cooperation and the further strengthening of relations with all neighbours, the statement said.

The government accepts the European Commission's opinions and recommendations for the meeting of the remaining commitments in the entry talks, including the further strengthening of administrative capacities required for effective activity in the EU and the use of all privileges stemming from membership, the statement said, adding that the government remained determined to meet all the closing benchmarks in the "Competition Policy" and "Judiciary and Fundamental Rights" policy areas.