Croatians :Hello to EU and goodbye to Balkans

Croatia welcomed the prospect of a symbolic break with the rest of the Balkans Monday after two-thirds of voters endorsed its EU entry, despite signs that the eurozone crisis has dampened enthusiasm. The country's prospective new partners in the European Union also welcomed the outcome of Sunday's referendum which should ensure that Croatia becomes the bloc's 28th member in July next year. "Goodbye Balkans!" said a headline of the largest circulating Vecernji List paper. With this vote "Croatia is turning its back to the Balkans, to the Balkans political tradition but not in the sense that it will avoid its regional obligation" to help neighbouring countries, political commentator Davor Gjenero told AFP. Sunday's vote means that Croatia should become the second ex-Yugoslav state to join the EU. Slovenia became an EU members in 2004, while Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia and Kosovo all have aspirations to join the club. The run-up to the vote had seen all the major parties try to persuade voters that membership of the EU would nail down Croatia's place in the heart of Europe, orientating itself away from a corner of the continent that has been ravaged by conflict in the last few decades. "It is a historic decision ... possibly a turning point in our history," Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said after the election commission released the results. But while the percentage voting in favour of membership exceeded forecasts, analysts said a disappointing turnout showed that enthusiasm for EU membership was waning as the bloc faced economic crisis. "Even among those who supported EU entry, the fact that the bloc is in crisis sparks mixed feelings and (affected) motivation" to vote, Zagreb-based analyst Zarko Puhovski told AFP. Only slightly more than 43 percent of voters cast ballots in the referendum, almost 11 percent lower than turnout in December's general election. Social Democrat leader Milanovic, whose centre-left coalition ousted the corruption-plagued conservative HDZ last month, attributed the turnout to disillusionment with politicians and the country's economic difficulties. Croatia has been in recession for most of the past three years. Many of the politicians most closely involved with the marathon negotiations on EU membership have been embroiled with scandal, including the former HDZ prime minister Ivo Sander who is now on trial for corruption. Analyst Puhovski said that because political leaders all pushed for EU entry it sparked suspicion among voters. "As a sign of mistrust of our political class they eventually decided not to take part in their 'project' -- the referendum," he said. In Brussels, the vote was universally welcomed with Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague calling it "good news for Croatia and good news for Europe". As Croatia's Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic joined talks with her prospective colleagues in Brussels, European Parliament chief Martin Schulz said the outcome was "a clear indicator of the continuing attractiveness of the EU." While other post-communist countries in central and eastern Europe were paving the way towards EU integration in the 1990s, Croatia's EU aspirations were halted by a 1991-95 war with Serb rebels, and its legacy. It was not until 2000 that the election of a pro-European government enabled Croatia's transformation into a genuine parliamentary democracy eligible for EU candidate status. Croatia's EU accession treaty must still be ratified by all 27 members of the bloc, before the country formally joins.