After holding consultations with parliamentary parties in Zagreb on Friday, President Ivo Josipovic said that he was extremely satisfied with the consultations and added that a majority of the parties had requested an exact date for forthcoming parliamentary elections, suggesting that it would not be not good if the elections coincided with a referendum on the country's European Union entry.
As for the elections, most parties insist on setting a date for them and most of them want the elections to be held in the autumn, while the (ruling) Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) has a somewhat different opinion, Josipovic told a news conference.
The ruling coalition prefers announcing the election date after the completion of Croatia's EU entry talks. They mentioned the end of this year, but most parties believe that the date should be more precisely defined, he said.
All parliamentary parties, except the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), said it was necessary to bring the EU entry talks to conclusion.
"All parties, except the HSP, strongly advocate Croatia's admission to the EU and support efforts to complete the negotiations in June this year," the president said.
He said that today's consultations reopened the door for dialogue between the opposition and the ruling coalition.
