European Union leaders supported in Brussels on Friday the completion of accession negotiations with Croatia by the end of this month and the signing of the accession treaty by the end of the year.

In the light of the progress made and the Commission's positive assessment, the European Council calls on the Council of the EU to adopt all the necessary decisions for the conclusion of the accession negotiations by the end of June 2011, on the basis of the draft common positions recently presented by the Commission, with a view to the signing of the Accession Treaty before the end of the year, according to conclusions which the leaders of the EU's 27 countries adopted at a summit in Brussels.

The conclusions represent a political decision on the completion of accession negotiations with Croatia.

They say that Croatia should pursue reform efforts with the same strength, especially regarding the judiciary and fundamental rights, so that it could fully assume the membership obligations from the day of accession, and that the monitoring of those efforts until accession will provide the required guarantees to Croatia and current member states.

In case of noncompliance with the commitments, the Council can adopt appropriate measures, at the Commission's recommendation, with a qualified majority.

The European leaders commended Croatia for its intensive efforts which allowed accession negotiations to reach their final stage.

The conclusions said the Council was considering the remaining negotiation chapters with full respect for strict conditionality and in accordance with the accession framework.

The conclusions do not directly mention a date for Croatia's accession but refer to the draft common positions in which the Commission assumes that Croatia will join on 1 July 2013.

This is a historic decision for Croatia and I hope that everything will be ready so that we can welcome Croatia as the 28th member on 1 July 2013, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said at a final press conference.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said the Council had paved the way for Croatia's accession as the EU's 28th member.

We expect the Council of the EU to complete the accession negotiations very soon, by the end of June, and then we will sign the accession treaty by the end of the year, he added.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said a political decision on Croatia was made and that what was good for Croatia was good for the EU.

He said this decision was a clear signal to the Western Balkans.

Croatia still has to close four negotiation chapters - "Competition Policy", "Judiciary and Fundamental Rights", "Finance and Budgetary Provisions" and "Other Issues", which is expected to happen at an accession conference next Thursday.