Josipovic said Istria County set an example and encouraged everyone in Croatia to develop coexistence, voicing hope that this would soon take hold all over Croatia.
"We have entered the European Union, which was our generational dream. A joint European future is ahead, and the values of coexistence, mutual respect, peace and acknowledgment are something without which there is no Europe," he said.
Europe was born first and foremost on the idea of peace and it is first and foremost a project of peace and cooperation, and "only secondly a big market place," he added.
"Nobody's perfect, neither we in Croatia nor is Europe. We are all in difficult temptations, especially now with the economic crisis which has seriously endangered many countries. Those values are the guarantee that we will overcome the crisis and have a Europe of prosperity tomorrow."
Josipovic received a special membership card of the Giovanni Palma Italian Community.
Italian Ambassador Emanuela D'Alessandro was also in attendance, saying a joint future in Europe lay ahead for Italy and Croatia. She thanked the Italian government for helping with the construction of the "Giovanni Palma" headquarters in Tar.
Italian Union president Furio Radin said Italian communities in Istria County were "beacons keeping and protecting the identity of the Italian national community."
County Prefect Valter Flego said Istria was characterised by multiethnicity, multiculturality, antifascism and coexistence, adding that "the Italian national community has actively contributed to the creation of multiethnicity in Istria."