Croatia welcomed the prospect of a symbolic break with the rest of the Balkans Monday after two-thirds of voters endorsed its EU entry, despite signs that the eurozone crisis has dampened enthusiasm.

The country's prospective new partners in the European Union also welcomed the outcome of Sunday's referendum which should ensure that Croatia becomes the bloc's 28th member in July next year.

"Goodbye Balkans!" said a headline of the largest circulating Vecernji List paper.

"On Sunday, Croatian citizens have for the second time in slightly more than two decades changed the history of their country," commented the influential Jutarnji List in reference to the 1991 referendum on independence. The move was followed by a bloody four-year war with rebel Serbs who opposed it.

Sunday's vote means that Croatia should become the second breakaway faction of the former Yugoslavia to join the EU, after Slovenia. Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia and Kosovo all have aspirations to join the club as well.

The run-up to the vote had seen all the major parties try to persuade voters that membership of the EU would nail down Croatia's place in the heart of Europe, orientating itself away from a corner of the continent that has been ravaged by conflict in the last few decades.

"It is a historic decision ... possibly a turning point in our history," Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said after the election commission released the results.

But while the percentage voting in favour of membership exceeded forecasts, analysts said a disappointing turnout showed that enthusiasm for EU membership was waning.

Only slightly more than 43 percent of voters cast ballots in the referendum, almost 11 percent lower than turnout in December's general election.

"The bad news is that there were too little votes, the referendum is legal but its legitimacy would have been much more convincing if much more people went to polling stations," the Jutarnji List said.

Social Demoacrat leader Milanovic, whose centre-left coalition ousted the corruption-plagued conservative HDZ last month, attributed the turnout to disillusionment with politicians and the country's economic difficulties.

Many of the politicians most closely involved with the marathon negotiations on EU membership have been embroiled with scandal, including the former HDZ prime minister Ivo Sander who is now on trial for corruption.

In Brussels, the vote was universally welcomed with Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague calling it "good news for Croatia and good news for Europe".

As Croatia's Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic joined talks with his prospective colleagues in Brussels, European Parliament chief Martin Schulz said the outcome was "a clear indicator of the continuing attractiveness of the EU."

On Sunday, EU president Herman Van Rompuy and EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso welcomed the referendum result, saying that "Croatia's citizens have given their endorsement to European integration".

Those opposed to entering the EU had expressed fears about a loss of sovereignty and national identity in the country of 4.2 million.

While other post-communist countries in central and eastern Europe were strengthening their democracies and paving their way towards EU integration, Croatia's EU aspirations were halted by the 1991-95 war and its legacy.

It was not until 2000 that the election of a pro-European government enabled Croatia's transformation into a genuine parliamentary democracy eligible for EU candidate status.

Croatia's EU accession treaty must still be ratified by all 27 members of the bloc, before the country formally joins.

Slovenia is the only current EU member among the six former Yugoslav republics, though Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Bosnia all have aspirations to join.