Croatia cleared for EU membership in 2013

[X.I.]

10 June 2011 Last updated at 11:41
Croatia cleared for EU membership in 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13725558

Croatia's accession is expected to be approved later this month

Croatia has been given the go-ahead to become a member of the European
Union, and is likely to join in 2013, the European Commission has said.

Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he would recommend EU
nations wrap up talks and prepare to greet Croatia as the 28th member state.

Talks on reforming the Croatian judiciary, a very sensitive area, had
been successful, Mr Barroso said.

Croatia will be the second ex-Yugoslav country after Slovenia to join.

"The European Commission has just proposed... to close the last four
chapters in the accession negotiations with Croatia," Mr Barroso said in
a statement.

"Today is a historic day for Croatia and the European Union."

'Reinvigorate efforts'
Mr Barroso described the move as "a signal to the rest of south-eastern
Europe".

"I... hope that Croatia's progress is an inspiration to our other
partners to reinvigorate their reform efforts and to deliver to the
benefit of their people."

Two other countries of the former Yugoslav federation, Montenegro and
Macedonia, are currently candidates for membership.

Serbia is expected to start membership talks next year, after the arrest
last month of former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic on war crimes
charges removed the biggest obstacle Belgrade faced to joining the EU.

The four outstanding chapters in Croatia's talks included the judiciary
and competition issues.

Correspondents say judicial issues are especially sensitive because the
last EU countries to join - Bulgaria and Romania in 2007 - failed to
meet full EU standards in that area.

The EU imposed a monitoring mechanism on them to deal with the shortcomings.

Croatia applied for EU membership in 2003 and formal negotiations began
in 2005.

But the BBC's Mark Lowen, reporting from Zagreb, says progress was
marred by initially sluggish co-operation with the UN War Crimes
Tribunal in the Hague, as government officials appeared slow to hand
over documents relating to the 1990s war of independence.

Corruption and organised crime have also dented the country's image, he
adds.

EU leaders are expected to approve Croatia's accession at a summit on
23-24 June.

[Serbian]

Wednesday 27.07.2011 | 10:36

More than half Croats support EU accession

Source: Beta

ZAGREB -- More than half of Croatia's population would support the country's accession to the European Union in a referendum, a new survey has shown.

The poll was done by marketing research company Ipsos Puls, Beta news agency reports.

According to the survey conducted for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in July, 52 percent would support Croatia's accession to the EU, 38 percent would vote against it, while 10 percent did not know how they would vote.

Only 46 percent of the population was interested in EU membership last June, while 43 percent were against. The growing interest in EU membership is said to be the result of the completion of the accession talks with the EU.

According to the survey, 82 percent of citizens would vote in a referendum, while 15 percent were not interested.

Supporters of the country's accession to the EU mainly live in northern Croatia, Zagreb and its vicinity, Dalmatia, Istria and other coastal areas, while most residents of the regions of Lika, Banovina and Slavonia are against it.

[confederate]

who's to say the e.u. will be around in another two years.

[Serbian]

Originally Posted by confederate

who's to say the e.u. will be around in another two years.

Yeah, all these leftist ZOG puppets from the former Yugoslavia want to jump onto a sinking ship. Very strange. I guess they basically have no choice as without the EU they will be lynched by their own people.

[Serbian]

Thursday 1.12.2011 | 14:18

EP approves Croatia’s Accession Treaty

Source: Jutarnji list

BRUSSELS -- The European Parliament has approved a draft Accession Treaty with Croatia


The European Parliament (EP)


564 MEPs voted in favor of Croatia’s accession, 38 were against and 32 abstained.

The EP has voted in another, non-binding resolution which expresses belief that positive results of the reforms will strengthen Croatian citizens’ confidence in the EU. The EP has called on the Croatian citizens to support their country’s EU accession and on the EU member states to ratify the treaty.

The resolution was supported by 550 MEPs, 34 were against and 41 abstained from voting. The resolution points out that Croatia still has not finished the entire work and that it needs to continue reforms it has started implementing.

Croatia will sign the EU Accession Treaty on December 9 in Brussels and will join the Union as the 28th member state on July 1, 2013.

[Serbian]

Tuesday 20.12.2011 | 11:12

Croatia to hold EU referendum on Jan. 22

Source: Tanjug

ZAGREB -- A referendum on Croatia's accession to the European Union will be held on January 22, Croatian President Ivo Josipović said.

He expects the Croatian Foreign Ministry to start lobbying immediately after the referendum for the ratification of treaties on on Croatia's accession.

There is enough time until January 22 to send to Croatian citizens important message what membership in the EU means, Josipović told Croatian Radio.

He said he concurred that the public was not informed enough during the negotiating process, but that all forces should now be aimed at completing the accession process.

We should not mislead people to believe that membership in the EU would solve all problems. Our membership is a great opportunity and whether we will use it successfully primarily depends on us, Josipović said.

[Serbian]

Croatia: Popular Sanction EU Style

18 January 2012

Croatia is not, and will not be a member of the European Union until at least July 2013, but that has not stopped it from adopting the worst practices of the EU already. Next Sunday its citizens will vote whether to join the EU, and do so under the understanding that should they pick the wrong option, they will have to vote again.

The referendum scheduled for 22nd January is allegedly binding, meaning that should it pass the national assembly will be obligated to ratify the EU accession treaty. Should the referendum fall, however, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs has explained it will just be repeated six months, or one year later. A Yes vote then is binding, but seeing July 2013 is still far away, a No vote this Sunday may not even postpone the accession.

Naturally this is having a demoralizing effect on the opponents of Croatia joining the EU making it all the more certain the referendum will pass at the first time of asking. Indeed, opinion polls indicate those opposed to EU membership are considerably less likely to turn out than those in favor. With the widespread understanding the government will make sure the country joins one way or the other, many opponents will not be bothered to engage in a symbolic, but ultimately futile act of registering their opposition.

Another factor that is skewing the field is that the campaign against the EU is wholly reliant on voluntary donations to the cause, but the government pro-EU campaign can spend money from the state budget. The latter has therefore been appropriately lavish, mailing a slick propaganda brochure to every private home in the country, setting up a propaganda telephone call center and buying up add space on 17 local television and 80 radio stations (which is to say the majority of TV and radio stations in the 4-million country). The importance of this immediate pre-referendum campaign, however, pales in comparison to the sustained pro-EU campaign of the last 15 years on the national public television, which at one point stooped to such depths as to broadcast a series of EU-themed propaganda shows aimed at children (produced in cooperation with the European Commission).

That despite all of this support for EU membership hovers at only around 55% represents something of a failure of Europeanists to definitely sell the public on the idea of joining the flawed supranational proto-state obviously in crisis. Existence of headstrong anti-EU constituency among Croatian voters, however, has not moved a single parliamentary political party to improve its position by catering to this part of the electorate. The situation parallels that in Slovenia before its 2003 NATO referendum with the public divided on the issue, but the political class completely unanimous in its endorsement of membership.

Croatian opponents of EU membership ascribe this aversion of notable political parties to adopt an anti-membership platform mainly to the politicians' keen sense of knowing which side their bread is buttered on. Indeed, it is unwise to downplay the importance of personal incentives in any situation, and particularly in this case seeing an added layer of bureaucracy the EU brings represents a veritable make-work program for politicians and their friends. The more fundamental reason why no party will step forward, however, has to be a lack of confidence. After all a party that did so and captured some of the sizable anti-EU constituency could do very well for itself and its friends nationally. This, however, would require a bit of boldness and daring — and that is something that is nowhere to be found these days, especially among politicians and then especially in Eastern Europe.

http://www.crappytown.com/2012/01/cr...-eu-style.html

[Serbian]

Monday 23.01.2012 | 09:57

Croatians vote in favor of joining EU

Source: B92

ZAGREB -- Croatians on Sunday voted in favor of their country joining the European Union, the results of a referendum there have shown.



66,24 percent - or some 1.3 million voters - of those who turned out voted in favor, while 33,16 - or 650,000 - were against.

The referendum was marked by a low turnout of about 1.9 million voters, or 43,58 percent of those eligible to cast their ballots.

Croatia is set to join the EU in July 2013, after this has been approved by all 27 members of the organization.

In a short statement for the media, Croatian PM Zoran Milanović congratulated his compatriots on the result and said it was "historic".

At the same time, he expressed his surprise at the low turnout: "I feel no bitterness, I expected a higher turnout".

Milanović concluded that "people were obviously fatigued".

The southern coastal region of Dalmatia saw the most opposition to the idea of EU membership, with regions voting from 40 to 70 percent against.

Conversely, the area of Međumurje in the north was most in favor, with only 23 percent of opponents to Croatia's EU membership.

[Jimmy McQuade]

Bad news, very bad news...

[Serbian]

Croatia Did Not Vote



Sunday 43.5% of eligible voters turned out for the EU membership referendum in Croatia. 66% of these voted in favor of membership. Politicians breathed a sigh of relief; the danger the referendum would fall loomed large in their mind, but this outcome did not materialize Sunday. Since November 2010, when popular opposition to EU membership briefly overtook support, there was great uneasiness among the Europeanist power elite, that was evident from the over the top and sometimes panicked way in which they conducted their pro-membership campaign.

For one thing Sunday there was no campaign silence otherwise customary for polls in Croatia, enabling the government to continue to advertise for membership into the very day of the vote and make the most of the far greater visibility of its publicly funded pro-EU campaign, compared to that of the underfunded, but spirited, grass roots anti-EU effort (operating under condition of television lockout). In an even more controversial development, a few days earlier the Minister of External and European Affairs (apparently "European affairs" are not external) warned retirees that unless Croatia joined the EU they would not receive their pensions:

"I do not want to be overly cruel, but if we do not enter the EU you will not receive your pension! I can be repugnant to you, but do not let your life to be repugnant to you. That is what it is about! We are in dire straits! Vote for the future of this country!"*

The result of the referendum indicates the aggressiveness of pro-membership campaign paid off. But how did it arrive at its success and who did it achieve victory over? The key is that as the political class demonstrated its determination to stoop to whatever depths necessary to see the absorption into the EU would not be thwarted, the voters correctly figured membership was a foregone conclusion they could do little to affect in the end. Subsequently, those undecided did not bother to look into the matter at all, and numerous opponents, as well as many supporters, did not bother to visit the poll and cast a vote according to their conviction.

The abysmally low turnout of only 43.5% indicates that government pro-EU efforts did not so much convince the many opponents of EU status to come around, as it had the effect of deterring them from taking part in the vote. In the end 56.5% of the electorate stayed at home, 14.5% came out to express their disagreement with membership, 29% their agreement. The government's pro-EU effort then was not so much carried out in the context of competition between supporters and opponents of membership, as it represented a war of the power elites against any notion of people power — a struggle the latter lost handily. This, however, represents a defeat for opponents as well as supporters of joining the EU, provided they care for prospect of real democratic decision making at all.

*The statement was given in the context of hysterical scaremongering of how voting against EU membership would mean Croatia would "lose" its credit rating "inside the week [of the vote]", which would have the effect of raising interest rates and sending the economy on a catastrophic downward spiral. It is interesting the first thought of the Minister if the country ran out of funds was for retirees who would be left without pensions rather than say, ministers who would be left without their salaries. One almost supposes the Minister assumed the funds to pay the latter would always be found, no matter how low the credit rating. It is also interesting how the politicians saddling the country with debt becomes an argument to be even more sure to let them have their way. Surely if one's main concern is the debt crisis it is only sensible to attempt to frustrate the plans of the buffoons responsible for it instead?

http://www.crappytown.com/2012/01/cr...-not-vote.html

[Serbian]

Survey: Most Croatians in favour of EU membership



Dalje - 14.09.2012

Fifty-three per cent of citizens of Croatia would vote in favour of European Union membership if the referendum were held now, and 61% of those who would certainly vote would vote in favour, which is the strongest public support for EU membership since 2007, the latest survey showed on Thursday.

The survey was carried out by Ipsos Puls agency from July 20 to August 7 on a sample of 1,022 respondents older than 15 years of age, and its results were presented today by survey leader Dragan Bagic. It was the first comprehensive survey since the referendum on Croatia's EU entry was held in January, focusing on people's perception of the European Union, information about the EU, and knowledge about and interest in EU funds.

The level of trust has not changed fundamentally, the head of the EU Delegation in Croatia, Paul Vandoren, said, expressing hope that the positive trend would continue until the accession, which is scheduled for July 1 next year.

The overall feeling is that there have been no spectacular changes, the positive outcome of the referendum has been sustained, and there are certain parameters where the results have improved, Vandoren said. Of course, there could have been greater improvements, but this is the reality, he added.

The survey showed that 53% of those polled would vote in favour of EU membership and 38% would be against, while of the respondents who said they would certainly turn out for the vote 61% said they would vote in favour and 34% would be against. The strongest support so far was recorded in 2007 when EU membership was supported by 55% of all the respondents interviewed and by 64% of those who said they would certainly participate in the vote.

The crisis of trust was obvious in 2008 and 2009 when support for EU entry plunged to 46% and 44% respectively.

Support for EU membership among young people aged 15-29 is slightly below the average. In that group, the strongest support was recorded among secondary school students (75%), while those older were more sceptical.

Most respondents, 64%, believe that the Croatian economy is not ready for the EU; 45% think that the judicial reform has changed nothing, as opposed to 39% who believe that it has been effective.

Forty-four per cent of respondents have a positive perception of the EU, while 28% of them have a negative perception. As regards trust in institutions, 20% have greater trust in domestic institutions and 34% in EU institutions.

Despite the information campaigns, as few as 15% of citizens said they felt well-informed about the EU, while 40% said they were insufficiently informed. However, only 25% of them said they were actively looking for the information they needed, mainly relying on the Internet


http://dalje.com/en-croatia/survey--...bership/446153

[Serbian]

Croatian PM says country still keen on euro


Wed, 19/09/2012 - 14:56


BERLIN (Reuters) - Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said on Wednesday after talks with Germany's Angela Merkel that his country's interest in joining the euro after it becomes a member of the European Union next year continued unabated despite the euro zone crisis.

"If you asked the population today, I think most of them would say 'Yes'," Milanovic told a joint news conference with the German chancellor in Berlin.

Croatia is due to become the 28th member of the EU next July but Milanovic said most people in his country already had their savings in euros, "so moving towards the euro zone would fit the trend because the country is 'euro-ised' to a large degree".

He did acknowledge that "enthusiasm for joining the EU is now a bit lower than it was 10 years ago" because of the crisis in the bloc, but said Croatia expected to benefit from the EU's cohesion funds which are designed to help poorer EU countries.

Merkel voiced support for the Social Democratic leader's reforms aimed at improving Croatia's public finances and credit rating. The ratings agency Fitch raised Croatia's outlook to stable from negative this month.

"When for example the ratings agencies put Croatia's outlook back on neutral, or better than it was in the past, that is a sign that its policies are correct," said Merkel.

(Reporting by Stephen Brown. Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)


http://www.iii.co.uk/news-opinion/reuters/news/54564

[Serbian]

Slovenia to block Croatia's EU accession over banking row

(AFP) – 5 hours ago


A Croatian woman casts her ballot at a polling station in Zagreb in January 2012 in a referendum on joining the EU (AFP/File)


LJUBLJANA — Slovenia will not ratify Croatia's EU accession planned for 2013 unless a deal is reached over a bank savings row between the two former Yugoslav states, a Slovenian official said Thursday.

"Only after (the row) is solved in accordance with international acts, we will be able to start the ratification procedure for Croatia's accession to the European Union," the head of a parliamentary committee and member of the ruling centre-right coalition, Jozef Horvat, told journalists Thursday.

He urged "Croatia's leadership to meet the international commitments it has taken, including the agreement over internationally brokered talks on the distribution of the former Yugoslavia's wealth and other commitments it took during EU's accession talks".

Over 130,000 Croatians claim they deposited 160 million euros ($207 million) in savings in Slovenia's Ljubljanska Banka before the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1991.

But in a bid to secure EU accession, Zagreb in 2010 agreed to resolve the issue through internationally brokered talks on the distribution of the former Yugoslavia's wealth, rather than through separate legal proceedings.

In a bid to find a solution to the dispute, banking experts from the two countries, Slovenia's France Arhar and Croatia's Zdravko Rogic, met in August and earlier this week but failed to find common ground for a solution.

"For the moment, I can't be satisfied with the progress made in talks between the two experts," Slovenian Foreign Minister Karel Erjavec told journalists ahead of a meeting of the foreign affairs parliamentary committee.

"Arhar has a mandate until the end of the year, if a solution is not reached by then, that means no bilateral solution can be found," Erjavec said.

Croatia still needs Slovenia and the other EU members to ratify its European Union accession treaty so that it can join the 27-member bloc by mid-2013 as planned.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...e15eec7346.681

[Serbian]

Slovenia to Ratify Croatia EU Entry Quickly, Minister Say

By Boris Cerni - Oct 3, 2012 10:57 PM GMT+1000

Slovenia will ratify Croatia’s European Union membership quickly once issues surrounding Nova Ljubljanska Banka d.d. are solved, Foreign Minister Karel Erjavec said.

Croatia, which needs Slovenia to ratify its entry to the bloc in July 2013, has barred NLB from operating on its soil while a dispute over money owed to Croats by the lender’s predecessor remains unsettled. The government in Zagreb yesterday asked Slovenia in a letter to jointly approach the Bank for International Settlements to find a solution even though the Basel-based bank rejected a mediator’s role in 2010.

“The letter from yesterday has accelerated the ratification process,” Erjavec told reporters in the capital Ljubljana today. “If Croatia also withdraws the lawsuits it filed over the Slovenian bank’s debt at Croatian courts, then the ratification process could move on quickly.”

Slovenia, a European Union member since 2004, must ratify Croatia’s accession contract before its southern neighbor becomes the 28th member of the world’s largest trading bloc next year. The dispute has strained relations between the two countries ever since they gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 along with a border dispute that the two nations agreed to settle via a special tribunal.

The Ljubljana-based bank’s debt is estimated at 312 million deutsche marks ($204 million), the former German currency that was widely used in former Yugoslavia.

The row over NLB has been evaluated by experts from both countries, France Arhar and Zdenko Rogic, who will meet in the Alpine resort of Bled, Slovenia, tomorrow and propose a final solution, according to Erjavec.

After that, the Slovenian government will look into the proposal and start the ratification process, he said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-1...ister-say.html

[Serbian]

Clinton visits Croatia, set to become newest EU member

By Nicolas Revise (AFP) – 4 hours ago

ZAGREB — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held up Croatia as a model of democracy in the Balkans during a visit Wednesday that comes just eight months before it joins the European Union.

"Nations around the world today are making the difficult transition to democracy, and they can look to you, they can look to Croatia, as a model," said Clinton after meeting the country's top officials.

Clinton, who has come to Croatia on the third day of her five-nation Balkan tour, met first with the country's Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic and Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic, before talks with President Ivo Josipovic.

The talks were focused on Croatia's future membership in the European Union, its role in NATO and strengthening economic cooperation between Zagreb and Washington.

"The United States is very proud to have the opportunity to work with Croatia in NATO, and we are looking forward to Croatia?s joining the EU next year," Clinton said.

Croatia joined NATO in 2009, and its troops have been serving with NATO military missions.

In December 2011, Croatia signed an EU accession treaty which was approved in a popular referendum a month later.

Before Croatia formally joins the EU, which is set for July 1, 2013, the accession treaty has to be ratified by all 27 member states. So far that has been done by five countries -- Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Italy and Malta.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...ca8d48b3cd.7b1

[Serbian]

First they get democracy with the HDZ, then the successful US MPRI Operation Storm, now about to be welcomed into the EU with praise, being only the second of the former Yugo states to be admitted. Their future is looking bright



November 26, 2012 | 16:27

EU official commends Croatia ahead of admission

Source: Tanjug

ZAGREB -- EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule voiced his confidence that Croatia will successfully complete the ratification process related to its EU membership.



Speaking in Zagreb on Monday, Fule was also confident that Croatia will create positive atmosphere for EU aspirations of its neighbors.

After a meeting with Croatian President Ivo Josipović, he said that the talks focused on two things: ensuring that Croatia continues its successful story after July 1, 2013, and Croatia's specific role in the region as a future EU member state.

"I am sure about Croatia's resolve to settle the remaining issues from the monitoring report by the European Commission, and I am confident that the ratification process in the EU member states will be completed so July 1, 2013 will be a happy event," Fule said.

Josipović said that the topics discussed with Fule were joint interests and situation in the region, together with the tasks that Croatia would have to fulfill before joining the EU.

The EU commissioner underlined in Zagreb today that Croatia is almost in line with the European legal legacy, and its EU accession is important for the entire region as a proof that reforms pay off.

Croatia has a few more tasks before the accession, but we are certain that it will fulfill them on time, Fule said at the opening of the 4th Western Balkans Civil Society Forum, which discussed the region and the EU association process.

Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić, who also opened the Forum and took part in its work, told reporters that Croatia has defined ten points, three of which have already been met.

[Serbian]

Final EU pre-accession funding to help Croatia become a successful EU Member State

Event Date: 14/12/2012

The European Commission has approved the last pre-accession and transition assistance programme for Croatia. The €46,8 million programme will focus on strengthening administrative capacity for an efficient justice system and the protection of fundamental rights. The funding will also support Croatia's on-going efforts to build a modern, transparent, and citizen-oriented public service.

"Croatia is almost there. I am confident this year's programme will help Croatia reach its last goals in preparing for the entry and become a successful EU Member State", said EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle.

As well as focusing on key reform areas, the last pre-accession programme will also help upgrade the border infrastructure in Tovarnik and Maljevac, rehabilitate the Turopolje Correctional Institute, provide support for Croatian Civil Society Organisations, and finance de-mining activities in Lika-Senj, Sisak-Moslavina, and Zadar County.

Since 2007, the EU has made available a total of €998 million in financial support to Croatia under pre-accession assistance (IPA). All these funds have now been allocated. As a future EU Member State, Croatia will subsequently benefit from Structural and Cohesion funds.

Background

Since 2007, countries wishing to join the EU have received focused EU funding and support through a single channel – the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). The total pre-accession funding for the period 2007-2013 is €11.5 billion. IPA consists of five components:

Component I: Transition Assistance and Institution Building - yearly National Programme

Component II: Cross-Border Cooperation

Component III: Regional Development

Component IV: Human Resources Development

Component V: Rural Development

The execution of EU pre-accession aid begins with the definition of the Commission's intentions in terms of indicative financial allocations. This is followed by the adoption of the IPA strategic document, i.e. the Multi-annual Indicative Planning Document, based on the countries' specific needs and setting out the priorities for EU financial assistance for the period 2011-2013. The next step is the preparation, along with the beneficiaries, of programmes to set the frame for the yearly financial allocation. Finally, the programmes are implemented through specific projects on the country or at the regional level.

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-12-1372_en.htm

[Serbian]

Did Croatia get lucky on EU membership?

By Oliver Joy, CNN
January 10, 2013 -- Updated 1346 GMT (2146 HKT)


Croatia relies heavily on its sun-kissed Adriatic coast to draw tourism and its state-run shipyards for revenue


London (CNN) -- On July 1, 2013 the 27-nation European Union will become 28.

With a low credit rating of junk and a political class stained by accusations of endemic corruption, the Balkan state of Croatia is soon to become the EU's latest addition.

Brussels is embracing recession-marred Croatia, three years into a debt crisis that is plaguing countries across southern Europe.

Leading economies such as Spain and Italy are struggling to cope with high borrowing costs and many EU nations are suffering from chronic unemployment.

But for Croatia, joining Europe's elite club will mark the end a 10-year campaign to enter the region's single market.

As one of the Balkan countries to emerge from the ruins of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Croatia will be only the second country to join the EU after Slovenia in 2004.

James Ker-Lindsay, a senior research fellow in South East European politics at the London School of Economics, says to some extent Croatia "got lucky" and its imminent membership is down to having "friends in the right places."

He told CNN: "There's always been this sense that Croatia has had a strong champion in Germany and Austria. They have always taken a very strong position on Croatian membership."

Read more: The eurozone's reluctant leader

Ker-Lindsay said he believes some EU member states are turning a "blind eye" to a number of Croatia's problems in favour of the political symbolism that enlargement in the Western Balkans represents.

He added: "It's mission accomplished... The time for conditionality has gone."

Economy

One of the challenges facing Croatia is its growth prospects. The financial crash of 2008 brought about a harsh double-dip recession that left the country's economy lingering in the doldrums.

Forecasts for 2012 project the economy contracted 1.9%. Unemployment peaked at 17.3% which is behind only Greece and Spain, according to Eurostat - the European Commission's data archive.

Croatia relies heavily on its sun-kissed Adriatic coast to draw tourism and its state-run shipyards for revenue -- which will either face privatization or bankruptcy under the EU's accession treaty.

Read more: Europe's 10 hottest destinations for 2013

The country's economic strife echoes the problems compounding many southern European nations. A high budget deficit, rising national debt and a lack of competitiveness has resulted in stagnating growth.

Will Bartlett, a senior research fellow in the political economy of South East Europe at the London School of Economics, told CNN: "The EU will not be a panacea for Croatia's economy."

Bartlett says that at the turn of the century, Croatia's banking industry became largely foreign-owned by European banks.

Despite not being in the single currency, many small businesses in Croatia have debts denominated in euros rather than in kuna - the country's domestic currency - exposing them to exchange rate risk.


Greeks escape austerity for farm living
Saving Italy's history from austerity Bartlett added: "It's very similar to Greece because it's a highly euro-ized economy... Unlike Greece they don't have access to any of the eurozone bailout funds. They're very much on their own."

Read more: Greece: When anger goes beyond despair

In December, Standard & Poor's - one of the three big credit rating agencies - downgraded Croatia to the lowest investment status known as "junk." This led to the Prime Minister Zoran Milanović rebuffing suggestions that Croatia would need a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

Political corruption

Croatia is also in the midst of cleaning up a political class that is rife with corruption. Since the country's inception in the early 1990s, it has struggled to choke off profiteering from those in positions of power.

Transparency International - an organization tackling corruption -- ranked Croatia below Rwanda, Jordan and Cuba in its Corruption Perceptions Index for 2012. But the country still came in above Italy - Europe's third largest economy.

Zorislav Petrovic, head of Transparency Internernational in Croatia said: "The country's evolution has been very slow since 1990."

But the current government - led by Milanovic - is taking steps to clean up the country's act under close supervision from the European Union.

In November last year, the country's former Prime Minister, Ivo Sanader, was jailed for 10 years after being found guilty of taking pay-offs from foreign companies.

Sanader - who was premier from 2004 to 2009 - had fled the country but was arrested in Austria.

Kristof Bender, deputy chairman of the policy institute, European Stability Initiative, says Croatia's progress to the "doorstep of the European Union" is quite remarkable.

He told CNN: "We mustn't forget how bad it [Croatia] was in the 1990s. The darkest moments of war, occupation, mass killings, ethnic cleansing, and autocratic leadership and crony capitalism were all there."

Bender recalls a conversation he had two years ago with Vesna Pusić, now Croatia's foreign minister. She told him that "no one dares to engage in corruption because everyone is so scared now... no one is immune."

Croatia joining the EU will be "highly beneficial" for the accession process, according to Bender, as it will inspire other "young democracies" in the Balkans and beyond to join the European movement.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/10/bu...-eu-accession/

[Angel Ramsey]

I know one Croation whore who'll be happy. Fucking cunt.

[Serbian]

Originally Posted by Angel Ramsey

I know one Croation whore who'll be happy. Fucking cunt.

about joining the EU? Must be some liberal democrat or homosexual.