Accession talks with Croatia are proceeding well, Rehn said. The authorities now need to accelerate efforts in key areas such as the judicial reform, fight against corruption, the return of refugees and minority rights, he added. They need to deal with economic challenges such as the reconstruction of the shipbuilding industry and the steel sector, Rehn said in a debate before the European Parliament's Committee on External Affairs.
Croatia could be able to meet requirements for EU membership by the end of the decade on condition that it reforms its judiciary and the economy with full determination and concrete results, the European enlargement commissioner said. Croatia is the leading example and standard for the other western Balkan countries on their path to the European Union, Rehn said during the debate on enlargement and the EU foreign and security policy.
He said that the process of solving the institutional crisis in the European Union at this moment did not slow down the enlargement process.