Croatian president meets parties over protests

(ZAGREB) - Croatian President Ivo Josipovic held talks Friday with parliamentary party leaders in a bid to ease political tensions in the wake of a series of anti-government protests.

"The reason why I have called the parties is to talk about stability" in the country, Josipovic said ahead of the meetings which will include an update on Croatia's bid to join the European Union, now entering its final phase.

The president's office said the talks would also focus on the protests and economic situation.

Since late February, thousands of people have been protesting several times a week in the capital Zagreb. The rallies, organised via Facebook, have called on Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor to resign and for early elections which are not due until early next year.

Josipovic said Thursday the protests came as people were "experiencing hard times".

"They have no jobs or are not being paid for their work, and because they and their families are hungry," he said.

Kosor has said that the election date will be announced once EU accession talks are concluded, which the government hopes to wrap up by July.

"Elections will be held by the end of 2011 although a legal deadline is March 2012," Kosor said after meeting Josipovic adding that she would not cede to "any ultimatum" regarding the election date.

"If the elections are called now, as some are demanding, there is no chance that we conclude EU talks, since a technical government cannot carry out tasks needed to be done before the end of the (EU accession) talks," she stressed, quoted by HINA news agency.

Kosor said she would meet next week with both her ruling coalition and opposition parties' leaders to discuss EU talks and elections.

Oposition parties, led by the Social Democrats, are also demanding early elections, arguing they would not jeopardize the country's EU ambitions.

Kosor took over as premier in 2009 when her powerful predecessor Ivo Sanader, currently detained on suspicion of corruption, stood down.

Croatia was hit hard by the global economic crisis and has seen negative growth for the past two years, recording its highest unemployment rate in eight years.