Full observer status is a step short of full membership.
"With full observer status, SOIH will have access to various programmes and projects, financial and expert assistance, and will be able to take more active part in various EDF bodies," SOIH president Zorislav Bobus told Hina.
EDF leaders, headed by president Yannis Vardakastanis, are on a two-day visit to Croatia as part of a tour of non-EU member states.
The EDF is an umbrella organisation representing 50 million disabled persons in the European Union.