Great Britain looks forward to Croatia's becoming a member of the European Union on July 1, Hague told a joint news conference with Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusic.

He said the friendship and partnership between the two countries was confirmed last week when Croatian President Ivo Josipovic visited London, which Hague said wanted to cooperate with Zagreb in shaping the EU's foreign policy, the EU's internal reforms and enlargement to the Western Balkans.

EU enlargement is our priority and we commend Croatia on achieving the standards. We look forward to further cooperation in helping the other countries in the region, Hague said.

As of July 1, we will be equal partners in the EU, just as we are in NATO, he added, especially thanking Croatia for the contribution to the peace mission in Afghanistan, where more than 200 Croatian troops are engaged.

Hague said Great Britain and Croatia should strengthen bilateral trade and investments, and that about 400,000 British tourists were expected in Croatia this year to whom the Adriatic coast was a known destination.

Pusic said the Croatian government must and would work on encouraging investment and that it was already cooperating with Great Britain on that. She highlighted the energy sector as a field of special interest for cooperation.

Pusic also said Croatian-British relations were excellent, saying the two countries would cooperate as partners in the EU in formulating and carrying out the common foreign policy as well as in further EU enlargement in Southeast Europe.

We agree that the region's progress and reform towards European membership are a mutual interest, she said.