Alluding to the violence at the gay pride parade in Split last Saturday, the president said that it was a democratic right of citizens who disagree with such parades to express their disagreement in a democratic fashion rather than by throwing stones, using insulting language and attacking people.

He expressed hope that the Zagreb parade would pass without incident.

The attitude towards those parades "is yet another test for the democratic Croatia and I believe that it will successfully pass it," Josipovic said, explaining that he could not attend the Zagreb march because he would be travelling to the coastal city of Split.

Croatia is a tolerant country providing everybody with opportunities to express their views and their inclinations, Josipovic said, adding that violence similar to that in Split must not be repeated.

The question is how a parallel event, for which no prior permission had been asked from the police, could have been held alongside the parade, Josipovic said, wondering how state authorities had not known anything about the counter-parade which he said was highly organised, involving several thousand people.

"It is less important how Europe will respond. To me it is more important how Croatia will respond and whether Croatia will recognise the evil which happened in Split and which must not recur," the president said.

Commenting on the announcement by Dutch Ambassador Stella Ronner-Grubacic that her country would insist on the monitoring of Croatia's reform processes after the conclusion of its EU accession negotiations, Josipovic said this showed concern and raised the question of whether developments such as those in Split could justify Croatia's entry into the EU without monitoring.

Josipovic said that he believed that the negotiations would be closed this summer.