Croatia has been approved to become the newest member of the European Union, offering hope to other nations from the former Yugoslavia seeking to join the economic and political bloc.
EU leaders gave the go-ahead for Croatia at a meeting in Brussels on Friday, following six years of preparations marred by slow democratic reforms in Zagreb and the EU's reluctance to expand.
Croatia, which is expected to join the EU in 2013, will be the first new admission since Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called the decision historic.
"I hope everything will be ready to welcome Croatia as the 28th member of the EU the first of July 2013," Barroso said at the end of the two-day summit of EU heads of government.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/us/politics/23brfs-LAWMAKERSOVE_BRF.html
