"We have serious economic problems today and it would be good if we concentrated on dealing with those most pressing problems," Josipovic told the press in the southern coastal city of Split after meeting with Mayor Ivo Baldasar.

There is no reason why not use legal instruments available to establish legal and moral principles. If it is a universal message saying that no politically motivated crime should be forgotten, it is acceptable to me, the President said.

Josipovic on Sunday expressed his support for the proposal by the ruling Social Democratic Party (SDP) that the Constitution should be amended to ensure that serious crimes committed for political motives did not fall under a statute of limitations.

Responding to questions from the press in Split on Monday, Josipovic said that the Constitution should not be changed because of one person or one case "the nature of which we do not fully know and which needs to be considered."

When asked if the time frame of the European Arrest Warrant laid down in the recently adopted law applied to the father of his security adviser Sasa Perkovic, Josipovic said that the law was not passed or conceived for the sake of one case, noting that Josip Perkovic, who is wanted by Germany, could not have been extradited under the previous law either.

On June 28 Parliament passed the law on judicial cooperation in criminal matters with EU countries, sparking criticism over the provision limiting the scope of the European Arrest Warrant to crimes committed after 7 August 2002. The law was popularly dubbed "Lex Perkovic" because it is believed that the time limit was introduced to prevent the extradition of Josip Perkovic, who is wanted by Germany for his role in the murder of Croatian emigrant Stjepan Djurekovic in 1983.

The SDP has recently proposed constitutional amendments to lift the statute of limitations on politically motivated murders.