Mixed news for Croatia, Turkey, Iceland in EU report

There is mixed news for EU hopefuls in the bloc’s latest enlargement report. It says Croatia is on course for the completion of entry talks next year and Enlargement Commissioner Ollie Rehn said Iceland could join at the same time as the Balkans nation. Iceland was not covered in the report as it only applied to join in recent months.

However there was a less encouraging assessment of Turkey’s bid for membership. The text said it had a lot more work to do in pushing through reforms before it could join the club.

It urged Ankara to improve the rights of minorities, women and trade unions as well as normalise relations with Cyprus. Turkey’s application is the most controversial within the EU with some states openly against it.

The European Commission also recommended that EU governments open membership talks with Macedonia, another ex-Yugoslav country.

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tags: Croatia, EU Enlargement, Turkey