During her traditional New Year visit to the obstetric, gynecologic, and pediatric hospital in Petrova Street in Zagreb on Saturday, PM Kosor said that political agreement in the country was necessary for Croatia to reach its strategic goals and the premier called on parliamentary parties to join her cabinet in the struggle for the economic recovery, in the drive against corruption and in endeavours to complete the EU entry talks so that Croatia "can go home and sit proudly at the European table of peoples and nations where we belong to" as the 28th EU member.
Kosor expressed hope that March of 2011 would show sings of the expected closing of the remaining difficult negotiating areas in the Croatia-EU membership talks. She said that 2011 was ushered in with all the negotiating areas (policy chapters) opened , and 28 of them closed, which was why the situation in the new year is better than at the beginning of 2010.
The PM believes that the organisation of a referendum on Croatia's admission to the EU would require "a great and very responsibly job", and she expects citizens to recognise the efforts of the government and other office-holders in this vein and circle "yes" in the referendum.
Kosor points out as the implementation of big investment projects and the rebounding of GDP growth as some of the toughest challenges in 2011. She said there were indications of a possibility of GDP growing more than the projected 1.5 percent in the new year.