The European Union has set a date for Croatia to begin talks to join the block, but warned Croatia it must first hand over an army general charged with war crimes.
Bulgaria and Romania also made closer moves to joining the EU at the European Council yesterday when April next year was set for the two states to sign the Accession Treaty.
EU leaders said they were satisfied at the progress made by Croatia and set March 17th next for the talks to join the EU to begin. However these talks will only begin if Croatia fully co-operates with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which is trying suspects from the war in the Balkans, including the former Yugoslav president Mr Slobodan Milosevic. In particular Croatia was told yesterday it must track down Gen Ante Gotovina, in hiding since his indictment in 2001, and transfer him to the Hague.
Bulgaria and Romania were also warned that full membership was only possible provided they complete "in a successful and timely way all the necessary reforms and commitments undertaken". With regard to Bulgaria, the EU continued to monitor its progress particularly in the area of justice and home affairs. Romania continued to be monitored closely on justice and home affairs, competition and the environment.
Should both countries complete their reform programmes they will become EU members in January 2007.
On terrorism, EU leaders called for the establishment of a strategy on radicalisation and terrorism recruitment by June next year. The European Commission was asked to submit proposals on how to prevent the misuse of charities for the financing of terrorism. The leaders also asked the Commission to draft proposals for a European Protection Programme "to protect and assist victims of terrorism, as well as witnesses in terrorism cases".
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said the leaders had discussed the future financing of the EU but many issues remained to be resolved. He said the Common Agricultural Policy was a priority for Ireland and he had emphasised that future agricultural funding should not be affected. He also said he hoped adequate cohesion funding would become available to new member-states and where cohesion funds still applied to richer states he had highlighted the needs of the Border, Midlands and Western region.
EU leaders said they "reaffirmed the political will to continue to work towards lifting the arms embargo" with China, calling on the incoming EU presidency, Luxembourg, to bring about a decision on it. The leaders however "underlined that the result of any decision should not be an increase of arms exports from EU member-states to China".
The leaders welcomed the work done on setting up the European External Action Service, an embryonic EU diplomatic service.