Spidla underlined the importance of the Croatia-EU memorandum on social inclusion that was signed on Monday, adding that he appreciated efforts Croatia was making to accomplish the social inclusion of all its citizens.
The EU official also pointed to the need to continue working on the protection of ethnic minorities and refugee return, adding that he agreed with Mesic's assessment that there were problems in the implementation of laws and projects on the local level.
Spidla welcomed Croatia's efforts in the protection of the Roma minority through the national plan for the protection of Roma and the Action Plan for the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015.
President Mesic said that there was an imbalance in the employed-unemployed ratio in Croatia, which reflected on the social welfare situation. Another problem is lack of foreign investment in formerly war-affected areas, which slows down the process of refugee return, Mesic said.
Both officials agreed that it was necessary to build links between people and ensure their coexistence, and discussed the situation in the region, the statement said.