CROATIA MINISTER IN PORTUGAL: CROATIA COULD COMPLETE NEGOTIATIONS ON EU MEMBERSHIP IN 2 YEARS

ZAGREB/LISBON, April 29 (Hina) - Croatia is ready to meet all conditions for full membership of the European Union and believes it is possible to complete negotiations in two years, Croatian European Integration Minister Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic said in Lisbon on Thursday.#L# The minister said this at talks with Portugal's state secretary for European Integration Carlos Constaneves, at whose invitation she arrived in Portugal for a two-day visit, spokeswoman for the Croatian European Integration Ministry Ivana Grgic told Hina over the phone. Based on the experience of the countries joining the European Union now, Croatia is confident it could complete the negotiations on EU membership in two years, the spokeswoman said. Minister Grabar Kitarovic expressed satisfaction with the talks with her Portuguese counterpart who, according to the spokeswoman confirmed there were no open issues between the two countries. "During the talks Costaneves expressed conviction that a decision on Croatia's candidate status would be made at the European Council session in June when Croatia would be given dates for the start of negotiations," Grgic said. The Portuguese official said his country fully supported Croatia on its path to the European Union, the spokeswoman said. The Croatian minister will later today hold a lecture in Portuguese on Croatia and the EU. The lecture will be held at the Faculty of Social Sciences.. On Friday she is scheduled to meet the president of the Portuguese parliament's Committee on Foreign and European Affairs, Jaime Gam. (Hina) it