Brussels, 20/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - The referendum on Croatia's accession to the EU will be held on 22 January, Croatian President Ivo Josipovic announced on national radio on Tuesday 20 December. “We believe … the necessary messages can be put quickly and effectively” to citizens, he said, adding that “we want the process of ratifying the accession treaty to be completed as quickly as possible”.
The new Croatian parliament will, on Thursday of this week, approve the date of 22 January for the referendum. According to the latest opinion polls, 60% of Croatians intend to vote for the accession of their country to the EU.
Croatia signed its accession treaty on 9 December. It will become the 28th member states on 1 July 2013, once the treaty has been approved by its people and ratified by the member states. (CG/transl.rt)