Croatia signed its accession treaty to the European Union today paving the way for the former Yugoslav republic to join the EU in July 2013.

Jadranka Kosor, Croatia’s prime minister, said Friday’s treaty signing was a “historic moment” for her country.

The accession treaty, which comes after nearly seven years of negotiations, still needs to be approved by all 27 member states, plus Croatia, before the Balkan country can enter the union.

Herman Van Rompuy, the European Council president, said that Croatia will be able to attend all EU meetings as an observer until it formally joins the Union.

Croatia’s entry talks were plagued by concerns over the country’s slow pace of reforms, its co-operation with the UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and a border dispute with Slovenia.

José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, said today’s signature was an “outstanding moment” for both the EU and Croatia.

He said Croatia “has demonstrated that it met the strict conditions of the enlargement process”.

Barroso added, however, that the Commission would “continue to closely monitor” Croatia to make sure it fully implements all the needed legislation and measures to meet EU standards.

The Commission president said Croatia’s entry should also be seen as a “clear signal” to other Balkan countries, including Serbia and Montenegro that the EU remains open to further expansion.

Barroso called on EU leaders not to hinder future enlargement because of the current economic crisis. “We should…not let the economic crisis overshadow this very important European policy,” he said.

Serbia and Montenegro

The EU leaders, however, were to delay a decision to grant Serbia candidate status for membership at their Council talks on Friday, according to draft summit conclusions.

The draft said EU leaders would grant that status at their meeting in March next year, if Serbia shows “credible commitment” to improve relations with Kosovo.

The EU leaders were to adopt a Commission recommendation to open membership negotiations with Montenegro in June next year, according to the draft, which is to be adopted later today by the leaders.