The delegation informed the president of the council's work, which over the past eight years focused on advocating the exercise of the Serb community's human, civil and ethnic rights, as well as cooperation with bodies of the state authorities in the establishment of inter-ethnic tolerance, trust and understanding, the statement said.
By promoting coexistence and tolerance, the council aspires to actively contribute to Croatia receiving a positive assessment of its bid to join the EU, members of the Council said and added they also tried to actively participate in the development of the economic and cultural life in Vukovar-Srijem and Osijek-Baranja counties.
They also stressed the problem of the council's financing and asked for the president's support in the process of finding a new legal solution for their status.
President Mesic stressed the need for the integration of the Serb national community into all parts of Croatian society, adding that all Croatian institutions must invest maximum efforts to make that integration possible.
He said the development of tolerance and promotion of dialogue between members of national minorities and the majority people were a guarantee and an important factor of Croatia's stability and security.