European Union membership is of strategic importance to Croatia, President Ivo Josipovic said in the eastern town of Vukovar on Friday at a talk on Croatia and the EU, organised on the occasion of EU Day in Croatia by Europe House Vukovar and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
"If we say 'no' at the accession referendum, it won't be the end of us, but we will remain for quite a few years a country of poverty in which tensions will rise," Josipovic said, adding that even in case of a "yes" it would not be any better unless employment went up, investments were made and the economy was kick-started.
"I want to stress in Vukovar the need for harmonic relations between the majority and the minority. The relationship between Croats and Serbs here in Vukovar, but elsewhere in Croatia too, is a clear indicator of how much we have adopted European values and to what extent we respect both our country and our constitution," said Josipovic.
Asked what could make him encircle "no" at the referendum on Croatia's EU entry, Josipovic said he would do that only if he did not believe in Croatia.
The head of the EU Delegation to Croatia, Paul Vandoren, said Croatia's accession to the EU in the near future should encourage other countries in the region to invest more effort on their road towards membership.
