Croatia is almost there but it would take at least 2 more years of monitoring and ratification by the existing EU member states to become the 28th member of the European Union. But the country passed a big hurdle as the European Commission has decided to recommend Croatia to the EU member states.
"The European Commission has just proposed... to close the last four chapters in the accession negotiations with Croatia," the European Commission President Barroso said in a statement. Mr. Barroso's statement came following successful completion of talks on reforming the Croatian judiciary which was a sensitive issue.