Croatia's ruling coalition agreed on Friday that parliamentary elections would be held on December 4, Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor announced at a press conference after the meeting in the Cabinet office.
Kosor said that the agreement was reached by consensus. "There were no disputes, I am very pleased," she added.
Kosor said that elections would be held before December 9, when Croatia is due to sign an accession treaty with the European Union.
"Since the signing of the accession treaty has been announced for around December 9, elections will be held before that, and we have shown responsibility in that regard," she said.
The PM said that some very important decisions were to be adopted before the dissolution of Parliament. "When the EU accession treaty is finalised, the government and Parliament have to ratify it and then we can agree on dissolving Parliament," she added.
Kosor said that her party, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), was counting on further cooperation with its junior coalition partner, the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), after the elections.
Kosor said that the completion of EU accession negotiations by the end of June was "a historic and strategic goal for Croatia." "Now that that part is over and we have agreed on further steps, we will have more time to dedicate ourselves to our parties," she added.
Speaking of tough decisions that had been made during the accession process, such as a border arbitration agreement with Slovenia, Kosor thanked the members of the ruling coalition for their "strong, stable and friendly support" and for showing responsibility to the state. She noted that the coalition had also done a great job in strengthening the national economy.
HSS leader Josip Friscic said that the coalition would seek a new mandate at the elections "because we have every right to it, just as the prime minister has the right to sign the accession treaty. Because, while many didn't believe her and did nothing, she worked every day on bringing Croatia closer to the EU."
The vice-president of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), Milorad Pupovac, said that the proposed election date was realistic given the remaining work to be done by Parliament and the government, and that it also gave both the ruling and the opposition parties enough time to prepare for the elections. He said he hoped that a date for the dissolution of Parliament would be known soon after the summer holidays.
