"This year we will celebrate Independence Day satisfied with the European Union's decision to launch negotiations with Croatia on full membership in that association. This decision was preceded by years-long efforts by bodies of state and public authority to meet the necessary criteria for such a step. The main step was made on 8 October 1991, when the Croatian Parliament adopted a historic decision to declare Croatia's independence," President Mesic said in the message, expressing gratitude to all those who contributed with their work and knowledge to the establishment and preservation of Croatia's independence, as well as to those who gave their lives for the country's independence.
"The adoption of European legal standards, development of democracy, social responsibilities and solidarity and civil rights and freedoms, is being undertaken primarily for our own sake, because we want the generations to come to live better, in a society based on the dignity of every person," the President said in the message.