Croats say 'yes' to EU membership

"ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatians voted Sunday in favor of joining the European Union amid a record small referendum turnout — a sign of how much the debt-stricken 27-nation bloc has lost in its appeal within the aspiring members states. Croatia's state referendum commission said that with about 50 percent of the ballot calculated, about 67 percent of those who took part in the referendum answered "yes" to the question: "Do you support the membership of the Republic of Croatia in the European Union?" About 32 percent were against, while the rest of the ballots were invalid. About 42 percent of eligible voters were estimated to have taken part in the referendum, illustrating voters' apathy toward the 27-nation bloc. "The people are obviously tired," Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said. "It would have been better that the turnout was larger, but that's reality." Croatia signed an EU accession treaty last year and will become its 28th member in July 2013 after all the bloc's states ratify the deal. The Croats were deeply divided before the referendum."
  The Associated Press / continue reading