ZAGREB, CROATIA: Croatians voted Sunday in favor of joining the European Union despite a poor turnout for the referendum — a sign of how much the debt-stricken 27-nation bloc has lost its appeal within countries aspiring to join.
Croatia’s state referendum commission said that with nearly all ballots counted, about 66 percent of those who took part in the referendum answered “yes” to the question: “Do you support the membership of the Republic of Croatia in the European Union?”
About 33 percent were opposed, while the rest of the ballots were invalid. About 47 percent of eligible voters took part in the referendum, illustrating voters’ apathy.
That compares to 84 percent who voted in a referendum for Croatia’s independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1992.
“The people are obviously tired,” Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said. “It would have been better that the turnout was larger, but that’s reality.”
It was among the lowest turnouts in any of the EU states that have held accession referendums before they joined. Nearly 46 percent took part in the vote in Hungary, while more than 90 percent voted in Malta.
Milanovic said: “This is a historic decision, the turning point in our history, as from now on, everything, including success or failure, depends only on us.”
The EU congratulated Croatians on their vote, saying it’s good news for the whole Balkan region.
Croatian anti-EU activists were furious.
“The turnout shows that Croatia has turned its back on the EU,” said war veteran Zeljko Sacic, who led a campaign against membership. “This referendum is illegitimate. We will never recognize it.”
Croatia signed an EU accession treaty last year and will become its 28th member in July 2013 after all the bloc’s states ratify the deal.
The Croats were deeply divided before the referendum.
Those who were for the EU said their country’s troubled economy — burdened by recession, a $61 billion foreign debt and a 17 percent unemployment rate — will revive because of access to wider European markets and job opportunities that the membership should bring.
“It’s a big moment in our history ... we are joining more successful countries in Europe,” Croatia’s President Ivo Josipovic said after casting his ballot. “I’m happy that Europe will become my home.”
Opponents said Croatia has nothing to gain by entering the bloc, which is fighting off the bankruptcy of some of its members. They said that Croatia will lose its sovereignty and the national identity it fought for in a war for independence from Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
