President Kolinda Grabar-Kitaroivc and Parliament Speaker Josip Leko attended the reception organised by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusic.
Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic did not attend the official celebration of Croatia's accession to the EU on 1 July 2013 as its 28th member.
Addressing the gathering, Pusic underscored that the path to membership lasted for 12 years, from the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement in 2001 to 1 July 2013.
"During those 12 years the country changed a lot," Pusic said.
Pusic, the leader of the junior coalition party in power, the Croatian People's Party (HNS), said that Croatia's accession was the first and only time the government and the opposition came to a consensus, "on the EU being a safe environment for Croatia."
According to Pusic, Croatia can contribute a lot to Europe's success in the southeast of the continent which "has been a source of instability in history."
"We are continuing to work on that with our neighbours in and outside the EU," she said.