Brussels - Croatia should be able to finish all talks on joining the EU by the end of 2009, paving the way for it to enter the bloc as early as 2011, the EU's executive body said Wednesday.

"Croatia is expected to reach the final phase of accession negotiations by the end of 2009 if it has taken the necessary preparatory steps," the European Commission said in an annual report on the former Yugoslav republic's progress towards membership.

It is the first time that the EU's Brussels-based executive has set out a timetable for Croatia to become the EU's 28th member since the Adriatic state became a candidate for membership in 2004.

The move reflects "the overall good progress being made by Croatia" in bringing its laws into line with EU rules on key areas such as trade, competition and foreign policy, the report said.

However, the timetable will only be fulfilled if Croatia continues to reform its laws, officials stressed.

"This is not a blank cheque. The timetable is indicative and may have to be adapted" depending on Croatia's ability to push through reforms, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said.

"The ball is firmly in Croatia's court," he underlined.

In particular, the country should put more effort into reforming its judiciary and restructuring its state-owned shipyards, he said.

A spate of high-profile mafia-style killings over recent weeks has shocked European opinion and called into question Croatia's image as a country largely removed from the murky dealings of Balkan politics and organized crime.

"The police need to become more effective in the fight against corruption and organized crime ... Further efforts are required in tackling high-level corruption," the commission report said.

Croatia opened accession negotiations with the EU in October 2005, covering a range of 35 fields from customs and environmental protection to foreign policy and trade.

At present, talks on four of the so-called "chapters" have already been closed, while the two sides still have to open talks on 14 subjects. The commission's paper calls for the remaining chapters to be opened by the end of this year and closed by the end of 2009.

However, once the chapters have been closed, EU member states will have to ratify Croatia's entry. The process usually takes some 18 months, but some EU member states have said that the bloc cannot take in new members until the ill-fated Lisbon Treaty is ratified - a process brought to an abrupt halt by an Irish referendum in June. (dpa)