Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
"Charting the Map"
Presented by Jean-Christophe Victor
Croatia: Steps away from the European Union
Croatia will join the EU in 2013 after getting the green light from the European Commission in June 2011.
Why did Brussels reach this agreement?
What is the EU's interest in welcoming the 28th member?
And what kind of country has Croatia become since gaining independence 20 years ago?
Croatia is located on the Adriatic Sea and is part of the Balkan peninsula.
There are 4.5 million inhabitants living in an area of 56,600 square kilometers.
The country has a surprising shape.
The southern part consists of two non-adjacent part separated by Port Neum.
This port is the only access point to the sea for Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Croatia shares a land border with Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Hungary, and Slovenia.
Which means that Croatia shares 40% of its borders with the EU since its expansion in 2004.
Let's take a closer look at this country.
A mountain range crosses through Croatia forming the western extreme of the Dinaric Alps.
The name comes from Mount Dinara.
There are the Pannonian Plains to the north
along with the capital Zagreb and the Sava Basin.
There's the city of Osijek to the east, a region historically tied to Central Europe.
Then the river basin to the south of the mountain range flows into the Adriatic.
The three main cities along the Adriatic are Rijaka, Split, and Dubrovnnik.
Of which the Adriatic flows into the Mediterranean Sea.
How did the country get a horseshoe shape?
We need to look at the country's history.
At the turn of the 7th century, the Slavs who originated from the plains in the northern Carpathian region.
They move towards the Adriatic in large migration waves.
The Croatians settle in the northwest of the Balkans.
In the mid-19th century, Central Europe is divided between Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire.
The intersection between the two empires still exists today in the form of a partially shared border with Bosnia.
The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire pushes Croatia and Slovenia towards the Balkans in 1918 during WWI.
Both countries become part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929.
Yugoslavia means the kingdom of south Slavic people.
The country is renamed the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia in 1941.
This independent communist state was modeled by the Soviet Union, governed by Tito, and divided into six republics.
There's Serbia which includes the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina.
There's Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia.
These republics represent the Slavic people who live there.
These peoples include Serbs, Montenegrins, Macedonians - who are mainly Orthodox,
Muslims Bosniaks and Albanians, and Slovenians and Croatians - who are mainly Catholic.
This is Yugoslavia in 1991, 10 years after Tito's death.
On June 25, 1991, Slovenia and Croatia are the first two republics to secede from Yugoslavia.
They estimate that their Gross Domestic Product contribution to the federation is greater than
what they receive economically and financially from the federation's capital Belgrade in Serbia.
Belgrade refuses to recognize their independence.
They want to maintain the federation and support the Serbian minority in Croatia.
This incited the intervention of the Yugoslavic Army and Serbian paramilitary forces on Croatian territory.
Serbian living in Croatia had already declared their independence.
They likewise declared independence for all the Serbian-majority municipalities.
This is the Serbian autonomous region of Krajina.
It existed between 1991 and 1995 and comprised 30% of Croatian territory.
The eastern territory of Krajina was absorbed into Croatia in 1998.
Created from war, a divided Croatia was officially recognized by Germany, then by the European Economic Community in January 1992.
Croatia then becomes a member state of the United Nations.
Thus, the Yugoslavic federation was the impetus for six new countries.
Slovenia and Macedonia in 1991.
Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992.
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia becomes the republics of Serbia and Montenegro.
It then becomes the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2003.
The term 'Yugoslavia' is abandoned.
Montenegro and Kosovo announce independence in 2006 and 2008, respectively.
During the last census, 80% of the population was Croatian and 4.5% was Serbian.
Serbs were 12% of the population in 1991.
Tensions remain between Croatians and Serbians, especially in Croatia.
So how is Croatia doing now?
Croatia has a temperate climate allowing for agricultural diversity.
Half of Croatia's territory is cultivated.
80% of farms belong to small, private farmers.
The southern Mediterranean climate produces wine and tobacco.
Croatia is also rich in wood and carbon. Its mineral resources are found primarily on the Adriatic.
Croatian exports are comprised primarily of food products, shipbuilding, biochemical, electrical, metallurgy, and textile.
2/3 of exports heads towards the European Union.
Here is a graph that shows the country's Gross Domestic Product.
Between 2000 and 2007, growth fluctuated but remained stable, ranging from 4 to 6%.
After negative growth as a result of the economic crisis, positive growth is expected for 2011.
The Croatian economy also comes from tourism, which represents 18% of GDP.
The country welcomed 10 million tourists in 2010.
The tourist boom is spectacular.
This is the coastal region on the Adriatic.
It represents 5,800 kilometers of coastal land.
Croatia has 1,200 islets and the coastal regions include Dalmatia, Kvarner, and Istria.
These magnificent landscapes offer a typical Mediterranean climate.
The country has a mountainous region where tributaries flow into the Adriatic.
The Dalmatian coastal province was part of Venetian territory until the end of the 18th century.
This cultural heritage is still present on the islets and ports, such as in Dubrovnik and Split.
These two ports are part of six Croatian ports classified as world heritage sites by UNESCO.
The two other UNESCO sites are also found in Dalmatia province.
Today, Croatia's tourism and economic sectors have been strengthened
which has assisted in its adhesion in the European Union.
How did this all happen?
The first European Union Balkans summit took place in Zagreb in November 2000.
It's a first step towards EU relations for this post-war region.
The 15 EU members declare that all of the western Balkans are allowed to join the Union.
At the same time Croatia becomes democratic and allows foreign investments in the country.
EU membership was proposed in 2003 and was officialized in June 2004.
The same year Slovenia was accepted as a member state.
There are now three criteria for EU membership:
1. Combating corruption and organized crime.
2. Respecting peace agreements, regional cooperation, and state rights.
3. Cooperating with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
Zagreb finally sent Croatian General Ante Gotovina to the Tribunal at the end of 2005.
Gotovina is accused of war crimes during the Croatian War.
This arrest puts an end to tensions and suspicions.
But Slovenia then blocks membership negotiations.
Membership can only occur if candidates settle regional territorial differences.
There's a border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia in the Adriatic since 1991.
Look at this map.
Slovenia's coastal area is enclosed by Italy and Croatia.
According to shared maritime territory principles, Slovenia is prevented from accessing international waters.
Slovenia demands that Croatia opens a passageway via the Gulf of Piran.
But Zagreb refuses.
Slovenia has thus used its veto power to block certain membership negotiations.
But Zagreb's interest in joining the EU encourages them to find a legal resolution to the political impasse.
Zagreb and Ljubljana compromise and agree to an ad hoc tribunal in November 2009.
Croatia immediately ratified this arbitrage agreement.
The situation become unblocked after Slovenia's approval of the agreement in 2010.
On June 24, 2011, Croatia was admitted as a member state to the EU, ending six years of negotiation.
Croatia will become a full member to the EU on July 1, 2013.
Croatia will then be able to serve as a bridge between the EU and the rest of the Balkans.
It took 20 years from its independence in 1991 to Brussels' accord in June 2011 for Croatia to become an EU member state.
Nothing is certain for now.
Several EU members, including Paris, want precautions placed to prevent Croatia from currently joining the Schengen zone.
We're trying to take a page from what we learned regarding Romania and Bulgaria.
Two countries that are combating corruption and have a weak legal system.
Future expansion criteria will be difficult for upcoming EU membership candidates.
Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Albania.
Countries that don't have a historic connection to old Catholic Europe.
And not even mentioning Turkey's adhesion in the future.
Bibliography
More information about Croatia can be found in French and German on arte.tv in this show's section.