After their meeting in Zagreb on Thursday, Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor and the European Commissioner for Justice, Viviane Reding, commented on anti-government protests in Zagreb and demands for setting a date for parliamentary elections.
According to time frames defined by the Constitution, elections can be held until early 2012. It is the ruling majority that decides on the elections, Kosor said, condemning violence at the protests.
"Everybody has the right to protest," she said, adding that she deplored violence.
Commissioner Reding said that citizens had the right to protest and politicians had the obligation to listen to them.
The European Union will not meddle into something that the Croatian government can do well on its own, said Reding who arrived in Zagreb for a two-day meeting of the European People's Party (EPP) in the Croatian capital.
