Croatia has become the 28th member of the European Union, with crowds joining celebrations in the capital Zagreb.

Fireworks lit the sky as membership became effective at midnight (22:00 GMT), with President Ivo Josipovic describing the event as historic. It comes almost two decades after Croatia's brutal war of independence. But correspondents say enthusiasm for the EU in the country has been dampen ed by the eurozone crisis, and Croatia's own economic problems.

  Thousands of people were in Zagreb's main square for the accession ceremony. They enjoyed performances ranging from traditional dance to hip hop - culminating in a stirring rendition of the EU anthem Ode To Joy at midnight, as Croatia officially became the 28th member state. But the square was not as packed as it might have been, had accession taken place a few years ago. Economic crises at home and within the EU have made many Croatians ambivalent about membership. Some said the plightof their fellow Balkan country - and now fellow EU member - Bulgaria made them worried about what might happen to Croatia. Others said the accession process had taken so long - almost a decade - that they no longer cared. But other Croatians were more enthusiastic - especially those whose lives or businesses involve crossing borders. For them, EU membership should reduce paperwork and hassle - reason enough to celebrate.  

'New chapter'

Celebrations took place in the central square of Zagreb, with fireworks and music including Beethoven's Ode to Joy, the European anthem.

"Welcome to the European Union!" European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in Croatian to the cheering crowd.

President Josipovic said it was "a great and joyful day for our homeland".

"This the day when we open a new chapter in the thick book of our history," he added.

Earlier he told a meeting of EU and regional leaders: "The accession of Croatia to the European Union is confirmation that each one of us belongs to the European democratic and cultural set of values."

Croatian officials then unveiled EU signs and removed customs posts at the borders with Slovenia, the first former Yugoslav republic to have joined the bloc, and with Hungary.

Croatia is the first new EU member since Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007. It is 10 years since it applied.

Croatia's split from Yugoslavia triggered a 1991-1995 war to secure its independence.

But with one in five unemployed and Croatia's national debt officially classed as junk, some Croatians feel joining an economic bloc with its own serious troubles will do little to improve their prospects.

"Just look what's happening in Greece and Spain! Is this where we're headed?" asked pensioner Pavao Brkanovic in a market in the capital."You need illusions to be joyful, but the illusions have long gone," he told Reuters news agency.

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