Croatian EU referendum
Greens welcome vote for European future in Croatia
According to preliminary results, the Croatian population voted today by a majority of 67% in favour of joining the European Union in a national referendum. Provided the 27 national parliaments in the EU follow the decision of the European Parliament of 1 December 2011 and ratify Croatia's accession treaty, the country will join the EU on 1 July 2013. Commenting on the results, Green foreign affairs spokesperson Franziska Brantner said:
"Croatia's voters have today made a clear decision for a European future for their country. This vote will strengthen modernising forces in neighbouring countries and contribute to stability in the region.
"The public debate over recent weeks about EU accession was good for Croatia and strengthened the democratic legitimacy of the accession process. It is regrettable, however, that the Croatian government scheduled the referendum at such short notice, so that the room for public debate was not as broad as it could have been. It is therefore all the more important that the continuing EU-related reform process is carried out in a more transparent manner and with more civil society participation.
"For Croatia's government, the vote should also serve as catalyst for speedily tackling outstanding reforms, in particular in the fields of justice reform, anti-corruption reforms, minority protection and the domestic prosecution of war crimes. The Greens will continue to call for thorough monitoring of Croatia's reform process by the European Commission and the European Parliament."
