Under Croatia's Treaty of Accession to the European Union, Croatia, which is set to join the EU on 1 July, should have its 12 members in the European Parliament upon entering the bloc.

The five-year term of the current European Parliament, whose members were elected at the 7 June 2009 polls, expires in June 2014.

The proposed changes provide for the beginning of the term of Croatian MEPs with Croatia's accession to the EU, instead of a formulation that their term begins with the first session of the European Parliament after Croatia's admission to the EU.

The changes also envisage that the relevant legislation takes effect on 1 March.

The legislation also will introduce open slates for the first time in Croatia's election practice, which means that apart from voting for the slate of their favourite party, voters can also circle the candidate they deem to be the best choice.

Croatia currently has 12 observers in the European Parliament, who were appointed by the Sabor in March last year, according to the representativeness of political parties in the national parliament.

President Ivo Josipovic will call the election for the European Parliament after consultations with the government, political parties, bodies responsible for the conduct of elections and other relevant stakeholders in public life, the President's Office said in a statement this past Friday.

"The first elections for the European Parliament are of extreme importance to the Republic of Croatia, both for the affirmation of Europeanism in Croatia and for Croatia's reputation in the European Union. In accordance with the law, the President of the Republic of Croatia will call elections after consultations with the government, political parties, bodies responsible for the conduct of elections and other relevant stakeholders in public life. The President of the Republic will also take into consideration the views of political and other interested stakeholders in society and the possibility of coordinating local and European elections given that local elections are taking place in Croatia in May," the statement said.

The statement noted the importance of amending the law on the election of Croatian representatives to the European Parliament so that elections could take place before July 1, when Croatia is scheduled to join the EU. A bill of amendments to the law has been sent to Parliament for adoption, without which the President cannot set a date for the elections.

Currently, Croatia is engaged in political debates over the best date for holding the first polls for Croatian MEPs.

Most parliamentary parties said on Friday that elections for the European Parliament should be held together with local elections. The Opposition said that Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic's call to them to propose a date for European Parliament elections was an attempt to manipulate the public.