Speaking to the press after meeting with the grand mufti of the Islamic Community in Croatia, Aziz Hasanovic, Vrkic said the construction of a mosque would show how much the city was opening to its citizens and the world.
He said the new city government had no reservations about the project, adding that construction could begin next spring.
Mufti Hasanovic said that after years of attempts to build a mosque in the area, he was pleased the Islamic Community was given "firm guarantees that, working together, there will be a facility that meets the religious requirements of the Islamic community in Osijek."
"We are glad that Osijek is an open and multicultural city and that the construction of a mosque will send such a multicultural and multireligious picture of the city and the wider area."
The mufti reiterated that Croatia was a "model of how to handle the Muslim issue that could be copied by all European Union countries" and that it could also provide a model for dealing with the position of Christian minorities in Islamic countries.
He said there were 3,100 Islamic believers in Osijek and that the mosque would serve the wider city area, which has about 5,000 Islamic faithful.
The money for the mosque will be secured through donations, he added.