BELGRADE, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Romania fully supports Croatia on its path to membership of the European Union (EU) and NATO, Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu said in the Croatian capital Zagreb on Friday.

    "It's very important to stress that we support Croatia's EU entry as soon as possible and I'm happy to be able to note that you keep progressing in that direction and that you're getting closer to meeting the EU standards," Popescu-Tariceanu was quoted by the official Croatian news agency HINA as saying.

    The prime minister, who is on a working visit to Croatia, said that if a NATO summit takes place in Romania next year, he would be very happy for Croatia to receive a NATO membership invitation in his country.

    "Romania's entry into the EU is a great encouragement to all of us, who aspire to join this association, which wants a peaceful, prosperous and safe Europe, a Europe of cooperation and not of conflict," Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said.

    Sanader said in February that his country would join the EU by the end of the decade regardless of whether or not a new European constitution is adopted.

    The two prime ministers also said they would urge their national carriers to introduce direct flights between Zagreb and Bucharest in an effort to boost trade between the two countries.

    "There's enough room for the further promotion of economic cooperation between our countries and I'm sure our good political relations will contribute to it," Popescu-Tariceanu said.