Key Croatia vote on EU

Croatia yesterday geared up for a referendum on entry into the EU, a vote that political leaders here say will shape the future of the Balkan country 20 years after independence.

Surveys in the last few months have consistently showed that around 60 per cent of Croatians will say ‘yes’ in today’s vote, allowing the former Yugoslav republic to join the bloc in July 2013.

An anti-EU protest in the capital Zagreb, which managed to attract only some 200 mostly elderly people, ended in scuffles with police yesterday as protesters tried to remove an EU flag from the main square.

Five people were detained, including the organisers.

Political leaders across the board have lobbied hard for a positive outcome of the referendum and yesterday Croatia’s leading dailies emphasised the benefits of membership in the bloc, seen as a break with the volatile Balkans region.

On Friday President Ivo Josipovic gave a televised address to the nation when he urged voters to “Say ‘yes’ to Croatia, say ‘yes’ to Europe.”