"Euro-scepticism, which represents opposition to European integration, differs from country to country," Grabar-Kitarovic said in her address to the 10th National Forum on Accession to the EU, which took place in the northern Adriatic city of Rijeka under the title "Truths and Misconceptions about the EU".
Noting that Euro-scepticism existed both in EU member states and in candidate countries, Grabar-Kitarovic said that surveys had shown that Croatian citizens based their views on EU accession on benefits it would bring.
She said that one of the main challenges of the Croatian government was to prove to Croatian citizens that EU membership was not a threat to Croatian national identity and sovereignty.
Grabar-Kitarovic said it was important to determine on what basis Euro-sceptics and Euro-enthusiasts formed their views and that it was necessary that in addition to her ministry, the Croatian media, opposition parties and parliamentary committees should also work on informing the public about the EU.
The gathering was attended by several dozen diplomats, officials from Croatian state administration and local government units, and representatives of non-governmental organisations, the media and the academic community.
The head of the European Commission Delegation to Croatia, Vincent Degert, said that EU entry was the issue of free choice of the public.
The Mayor of Rijeka, Vojko Obersnel, noted that the countries that used to be behind the so-called Iron Curtain had entered the European Union before Croatia, while the head of the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights (HHO), Zarko Puhovski, said that he himself was Euro-sceptical but that he was not against EU membership.
Puhovski said that the EU had demonstrated irresponsibility by lowering the entry requirements for some countries and that it functioned as a geostrategic community which Croatia should join as soon as possible to protect itself against it.
British Ambassador John Ramsden said that there were also Euro-sceptics in his country and that he believed that Croatia would have already joined the EU had there not been war.