The state leaders recalled 25 June 1991, when the Croatian parliament adopted the Constitutional Decision on the Sovereignty and Independence of the Republic of Croatia, which Sanader, Mesic and Seks said was a crucial document in the history of Croatia's statehood and a turning point on the path to sovereignty, independence, international affirmation and territorial integrity.
Sanader said that since the first days of its independence, opposition to the aggressor, international recognition, victory in an imposed war and accomplishment of other important goals, Croatia had proven to be a stable and successful country.
"Today we mark Statehood Day as a completely stable European democracy," the PM said, adding that in the last few years Croatia was making more progress, that its economy was developing successfully and that the unemployment rate was the lowest in the last ten years.
Croatia is drawing closer to the European Union and NATO at a maximum pace and only its full membership of those associations can guarantee peace that is necessary for even stronger economic development, Sanader said.
Croatia is marking Statehood Day with a stable and respectable international position, for the first time in more than a decade there are no major or outstanding issues or any misunderstandings with the international community, the PM said.
Serious challenges still lie ahead, such as the fight against corruption and bribery, unemployment, and efforts to improve living standards for all citizens, the PM said.
President Stjepan Mesic said that today's Croatia was compatible with EU members and that it wanted to guarantee its citizens a safer and better life. After having won the war, improved its institutions and enabled fast development of democracy, Croatia must now be a country where all will be equal before the law, a society of responsible individuals in which it will be pleasant to live, Mesic said.
The best indicator of how people in Croatia are living and how they should live will be this autumn's parliamentary elections at which citizens "will assess what we have done and what we want to do", he added.
Parliament Speaker Vladimir Seks said that the Sabor's historic decisions of 25 June 1991 would have remained a dead letter without the heroic struggle in the Homeland War and brilliant liberation operations, for which he said Croatia should be grateful to the first Croatian president Franjo Tudjman and all who died defending the country.
Croatia today faces reforms that will facilitate the fight against corruption and bribery, which the parliament fully supports, Seks said.
"Efforts to deal with that problem are of vital importance for all citizens and they should not have political connotations and be used for political purposes," Seks said.