"I'm an optimist and believe we will find a solution. It really wouldn't be good if we quarrelled with the neighbours in a way that would jeopardise our membership of the European Union, and it certainly wouldn't be good for the neighbours either," the president told reporters.

He is confident that the Croatian and Slovenian experts will find a solution for the now-defunct bank's former clients and that there is still time.

Asked if the Croatian government should withdraw the power of attorney for a lawsuit against the Slovenian bank, Josipovic said this was a technical matter.

"It's important to find a just solution. A solution that will, on the one hand, be sustainable for our Slovenian neighbours in meeting the existing commitments, and on the other, that we ensure, in the long or short term, that all citizens get their money."

Asked to comment on a recent assault on the wife of Vukovar Mayor Zeljko Sabo, the president said any violence was horrible and even more so if it had a political background. "Police must do their job, the culprits must be found, and then the judiciary will do its part."

Asked if the National Security Council should be convened so that focus could shift from phone records to the economy, Josipovic said phone records must exist as a measure because it was difficult to uncover crime without them. "It's especially important that there is trust that institutions won't abuse this measure," he said, adding that it was necessary to improve the procedure for clearing those measures.