"Important tasks are ahead for the government before the end of its term, the most important being economic recovery, completion of (accession) negotiations with the European Union and the holding of a referendum (on accession). These are very important tasks and I, together with all Croatian citizens, expect the government to do a very efficient and good job," Josipovic said responding to questions from the press.

"What's especially important to me in this reshuffle is the change of the defence minister. The government and the president share jurisdiction in this field, as the president gives his opinion on the appointment of the minister of defence. In agreement with Prime Minister (Jadranka) Kosor, I invited the minister nominee, Davor Bozinovic, for talks yesterday... He assured me of his commitment to the reform of the Armed Forces and the execution of their constitutional tasks - he from the administrative point of view and I, as the commander in chief, from the command point of view. Based on the talks, I gave a positive opinion for the appointment of Davor Bozinovic as defence minister."

Asked if it was good to change the finance minister shortly after the adoption of the state budget, Josipovic said this was a government matter and that he would rather not go into that.

Asked if the changes were perhaps too late, he said the president was the government's partner and not its critic nor apologist, and that he did not assess ministers.

Asked about Croatia's response to Serbia's genocide lawsuit and whether it could jeopardise the good relations between the two countries, Josipovic said there was no reason for that to harm Croatia-Serbia relations, which he said had improved considerably, to the benefit of both countries and nations.

The response is part of a normal ongoing process and nothing special has actually happened, he said.

"The proceedings are under way. It has been said a number of times and it is my position that the lawsuit exists and that it makes sense as long as the reasons for which it was filed exist. It is up to the Croatian and Serbian governments to assess if there exist conditions to possibly drop (the lawsuit) or to pursue the dispute. That's a government matter and I don't go into that, but I am stressing the reasons for which the lawsuit was filed or the possible reasons for dropping it or settling out of court."

Asked about the latest developments in the case of former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, who is in custody in Austria and is wanted in Croatia on suspicion of corruption, Josipovic said the rule of law treated every individual equally, be they former or incumbent prime ministers or ordinary citizens.

"The law will be enforced impartially by respecting rights, which means that the proceedings under way against Ivo Sanader won't be different from any other proceedings and that all measures that would be applied in other cases will be applied. It's extremely important that the proceedings against one of the most senior former state officials be carried out lege artis, without political influence, in accordance with the law, by respecting Sanader's constitutional rights," said Josipovic.