Croatians vote in crucial EU referendum

Croatians are going to the polls in a nationwide referendum on EU membership, a vote that many see as crucial for the future of the Balkan country, 20 years after independence.

Opinion polls suggest around 60% of Croatians back entry into the EU, and all the major political parties are in favour of the move.

Opponents of the "yes" vote fear a loss of sovereignty, just two decades after Croatia became an independent state.

But supporters say membership of the EU is the best option for the country in the long term.

The country is currently suffering from high unemployment and other economic problems.

A positive outcome of Sunday's vote, which pre-poll surveys show is probable, would enable the Balkan country to become the 27-nation bloc's next member in July 2013.

Croatia's leaders say that entering the bloc has been a strategic goal since Croatia won its hard-fought independence following the 1991-95 war with rebel Serbs and will confirm a break from the volatile Balkans region.

The importance of EU membership is one of the few issues on which all major Croatian political parties agree.

Of the six former Yugoslav republics Slovenia is the only EU member, although Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Bosnia all have aspirations.

Polls show up to 60 per cent of Croatians back EU entry, and the referendum needs a simple majority regardless of the turnout.

In the 1990s, when other post-communist countries in central and eastern Europe were strengthening their democracies and paving their way towards EU integration, Croatia's EU aspirations were halted by the 1991-95 war and its legacy.

It was not until 2000 that the election of pro-European rulers enabled Croatia's transformation into a genuine parliamentary democracy eligible for EU candidate status.