site.btaCroats Believe the EP Is Far from Their Problems, Croatian Journalist Says

Croats believe that the European Parliament is far from their problems and "does not listen" even to Croatian MEPs, Marko Juric, a Croatian columnist and political analyst, said in a BTA interview after the EP elections June 9.

Croatia has 12 seats in the 720-seat EU legislature. 

"Like a number of my colleagues, I am of the opinion that voters in Croatia consider it much more important to vote in the elections for the Croatian parliament and for people who will be directly responsible for their future in the next four years. The European Parliament is perceived as an institution that is far removed from the problems of the ordinary Croatian citizen, as an institution that does not even listen to Croatian MEPs, who are only 12 out of 720," he said.

However, according to him, there is another "psychological moment" that explains the low turnout at the European elections on Sunday. "Many Croats have still not forgotten how they were abandoned by Europe alone at a number of critical moments during the 1991-1995 war. The help that some other nations are getting today, in some other wars, is something that Croatia in 1991 could not have dreamed of," the journalist explained, adding that there was another reason, not least the start of the tourist season, which for any Croatian family renting apartments on the Adriatic Sea has great financial significance.