We Can!'s candidates in the European elections urged citizens on Saturday to vote on 9 June, saying that these elections are extremely important because "they significantly impact the lives of citizens, as most of the laws passed by the Croatian parliament originate from European legislation."

Speaking in Pula, the party’s coordinator Sandra Bencic called on citizens to vote, saying that it matters what kind of Europe they will wake up in on 10 June. It is of the utmost importance that Europe remains progressive, green, and committed to developing and embracing all fundamental values, she added.

“Across Europe, the fascist right is rising. Unfortunately, we also have parties in the Croatian parliament that attack the fundamental values of anti-fascism and the historical legacy of anti-fascism, which includes Croatia’s borders. The fact is that Istria, Rijeka, and Dalmatia are part of Croatia today and that is the legacy of anti-fascism.”

Bencic urged citizens to note that right-wing parties from Croatia attended gatherings organised by parties like Italy’s Fratelli d’Italia, an openly irredentist party which organised rallies across Italy in February with banners calling for Istria, Rijeka, and Dalmatia to be returned to Italy.

“Unfortunately, we have political groups on the right which go there and negotiate with them on how to create a conservative right in the European Parliament together. This creates a fundamental paradox, they are sovereigntists at home, but abroad, they join forces with those who want to attack what is the foundation of sovereignty, our borders. That is why it matters what kind of Europe we will wake up in on 10 June,” Bencic said.

Candidate Gordan Bosanac said that for We Can! the fight in the European Parliament would not only be about defending an anti-fascist Europe and its values but also about continuing the green transformation and the fight against climate change.

“The right, besides attacking fundamental European values, has started attacking the idea that we need to move towards a green and sustainable Europe. They claim that this green transformation is unrealistic and too expensive, but they fail to mention that it’s the right-wing and conservative parties that have eliminated the social component from the green transformation,” he said.

“Instead of investing in projects that do not have significant multiplicative added value, we will advocate for the restructuring of the Croatian economy, which can no longer rely solely on trade and tourism. We need to ensure reindustrialisation, or rather industrialisation on green foundations,” said candidate Ducica Radojcic.

We Can!’s Pula branch has always highlighted the need to modernise shipbuilding, which unfortunately failed in Pula, she said, adding that Europe is once again investing in shipbuilding, so Croatia must modernise and become competitive in this field as well.