Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor hassaid that the European Union will on Monday start drawing up an accessionagreement for Croatia and that 2012 is the likeliest year for Croatia's entryinto the bloc.

PM said in the Croatian Television's prime time news programme on Fridaythat EU foreign ministers, who would convene in Brussels on Monday, wereexpected to support a recommendation by the Swedish EU chairmanship that thewriting of Croatia's accession treaty should begin.

"We expect the establishment of a working group and the beginning offormulating Croatia's accession treaty. This evidences that we are nearingcompletion (of membership talks)," Kosor said.

She hopes that by the end of this year Croatia will have 17 negotiatingchapters provisionally closed and 31 chapters opened.

Commenting on the EU financial package for 2012 and 2013 which envisagesapproximately EUR 3.5 billions for Croatia from various funds, the premier saidthat Croatia would most likely enter the EU in 2012.

As regards the prospective opening of the policy chapter No. 23 on Judiciaryand Fundamental Rights, Kosor said that Croatia would decisively fulfil itscommitments.

In this context she expressed satisfaction with the Hague-based UN warcrimes tribunal chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz's address yesterday in the UNsecurity Council when he welcomed efforts Croatia was making to locate missingmilitary documents, known as artillery logs, dating from the 1995 OperationStorm.