Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusic said in Zagreb on Tuesday there were no "pro-EU" and "anti-EU" camps in Croatia given that a vast majority in Parliament advocated the country's EU entry, and Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic hailed the call by the Catholic Church to the faithful to go to the referendum and vote following their conscience.
"This is not about the 'pro-EU' and 'anti-EU' camps. The ruling coalition and the strongest Opposition party together hold more than four fifths of the seats in Parliament and they share the same position on this issue", Pusic told a news conference in the government building.
"Both share the position that European membership is important for the future and prosperity of Croatia," Pusic told reporters when asked to comment on opinion polls commissioned by Euro-sceptic associations, which show that over 50 percent of Croatians are against Croatia joining the EU.
Pusic said the true indicator would be the referendum scheduled for 22 January, stressing that polls carried out by all relevant agencies indicated that the support for Croatia's EU entry ranges between 56 and 61 percent.
At the same news conference Prime Minister Milanovic hailed the call by the Catholic Church to the faithful to go to the referendum and vote following their conscience, adding that such an attitude was helping the outcome of the vote.
"I am glad the Church called on the faithful to go to the polls, this can only help," Milanovic said.
The Croatian Bishops' Conference issued a statement today encouraging the Catholic faithful and all Croatian citizens to dismiss fears and despondency and courageously open themselves to the future.
The bishops recalled that Pope Benedict XVI had sent the same message during his pastoral visit to Croatia.
