Croatia should be able to finish all talks on joining the EU by the end of 2009, paving the way for it to enter the bloc as early as 2011, the EU's executive body said Wednesday.
It is the first time that the European Commission has set out a timetable for the former Yugoslav republic to complete all EU accession negotiations, reported dpa.
If Croatia sticks to the deadline, it will become the EU's 28th state once all current members have approved its entry - a process which usually takes some 18 months.