EU ambitions

EU ambitions

The head of the European Union's reconstruction program for the Balkans said late Thursday there was a chance that Croatia might not be ready to join the EU in 2009, but welcomed the country's ambitions. «In the worst case,» Croatia will only be able to join in 2014, Erhard Busek, special coordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, was quoted as saying in an interview with the Austria Press Agency. «But if they meet the requirements, and the situation is favorable, it could definitely be earlier,» Busek, a former Austrian vice chancellor and Balkans expert, was quoted as saying. (AP)