The accession was formalised at a ceremony, held in Zagreb on Wednesday, at which the accession agreement was signed by the Croatian Science, Education and Sports Minister Dragan Primorac, and by the EUMETSAT Director General Lars Prahm.
The Member State Agreement grants Croatia full participation in EUMETSAT"s decision making process, full access to all EUMETSAT data, services and products, and will enable Croatian industry to bid for contracts.
Minister Primorac said that by joining EUMETSAT, Croatia realised the government's strategy of joining European associations.
Prahm said Croatia was the first country in the region to develop cooperation with EUMETSAT.
Croatia, which joined EUMETSAT as a Cooperating State in 2002, is already making increased use of Meteosat and other satellite data in their operational forecasting activities and research programmes.
Data from EUMETSAT satellites play a vital role in the prevention and mitigation of natural disasters and provides invaluable information in support of studies on changes in climate and the environment.