President Ivo Josipovic attended an event called EU Days at Zagreb's Faculty of Economics on Monday, saying that Croatia was fully committed to combating corruption and organised crime.
"Fighting corruption is a fight for European Croatia. All state institutions are committed to the fight against corruption and crime, and their cooperation with the government is excellent," Josipovic said in his address to students, faculty and foreign diplomats.
Noting that there was a full consensus at all levels of government on combating corruption, Josipovic said that the biggest corruption lay in public resources management.
"We must hit that octopus on the head without mercy," he said, adding that Croatia can expect organised crime to hit back and that its response may be brutal.
Josipovic cited World Bank figures according to which Croatia annually loses 12.5 billion kuna to corruption and organised crime. "Therefore the fight against corruption is also a fight against the economic crisis" and an important moral issue, he added.
Speaking of the progress of EU membership negotiations, the President said that a date of completion of the negotiations depended on Croatia.
"The rule of law is a condition for EU membership," he said, adding that it rests with the EU "to fairly judge our commitment and readiness" to join the bloc.
The EU Days event includes lectures and workshops on combating corruption. Organised by the Croatian Student Association, it marked the beginning of Europe Week in Croatia.
Paul Vandoren, head of the European Union Delegation in Zagreb, said that corruption was probably one of the worst problems faced by countries.
Corruption undermines the very foundations of society, Vandoren said, recalling that Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor had vowed zero tolerance for corruption in Croatia.
Vandoren said that there was a political determination in Croatia to fight corruption, stressing that the political pressure in that fight should never let up.
