We have agreed on opening and provisionally closing the negotiations on science and research, the first of the 35 chapters of the European acquis communautaire, the chairwoman of the EU Council, Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik, said after an accession conference in Luxembourg.
Croatian Foreign Minister Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, who headed the Croatian delegation at the conference, announced that Croatia would increase investment in the science and research sector.
Croatia is on a very good road. We, of course, are aware that it will be a long road and that we should focus on our common goal, Plassnik said.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said he thought it was realistic for Croatia to complete the accession process by the end of this decade.