last updated 29 September 2005
Diplomatic relations between Croatia and the EU began in 1992, after Croatia seceded from Yugoslavia. Beginning in 1997, two years after the war ended, the EU established political and economic goals for Croatia and subsequent years brought additional efforts to guide Croatia toward EU accession. Serious negotiations between Croatia and the EU began in 2000, with the election of a liberal coalition government and greater economic stabilization. In 2001, Croatia implemented two important programs on the path toward EU integration. On 29 October 2001, Croatia signed the Stabilization and Association Agreements with the EU (SAA), which provides a political and economic framework for eventual EU accession. The European Commission also adopted a country strategy for Croatia and allocated €197 towards integration assistance for 2002-2004. The funding was implemented through the Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilization (CARDS) program, which focuses on political and economic development, judicial and administrative reform, and environmental concerns.
On 21 February, 2003, Croatia submitted a formal application for EU membership. On 20 April 2004, the EU Commission released an Opinion on Croatia’s Application for Membership of the European Union. The Opinion commends Croatia’s political and economic development and recommends that the EU initiate membership negotiations with Croatia. The Opinion reported that the election of Stjepan Mesic “marked a turning point in the relations between the EU and Croatia.” During his term, Croatia began to embrace the reforms necessary for integration into the EU, including cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY), political reform and greater respect for human rights. Despite Croatia’s progress, the Commission recommended several areas for improvement. It noted that Croatia should hand over indicted Croatian war criminals to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia with less resistance and recommended that Croatia improve its treatment of ethnic minorities and refugees, enhance regional cooperation with border and environmental disputes, and tackle domestic corruption more effectively.
As part of its goal of EU accession, the Croatian parliament synchronized legislation in accordance with the acquis communautaire. Some scholars have criticized Croatian legislation for not being drastic enough about gender equality. Mario Vinkovic noted that the Labor Act and other forms of legislation that include gender equality measures lack clear definitions about discrimination and specific implementation measures, and they adopt a paternalistic outlook on women’s employment, (e.g., prohibiting women from working at night). However, according to the 2004 European Commission Opinion, Croatia created a solid infrastructure for gender equality and anti-trafficking measures, which meets EU Standards. The areas of improvement that the EU recommended for Croatia involve creating equal pay for men and women pensioners and reducing prohibitive restrictions on women in legislation.
In June 2004, the European Council granted Croatia the status of official candidate country for EU membership and negotiations were expected to begin in the spring of 2005. According to the EU Council, Croatia needs to make improvements in the areas of “minority rights, refugee returns, reform of the judiciary, regional cooperation and the fight against corruption.” The Commission reports that Croatia is a stable democracy and a functioning market economy. In December 2004, the EU announced their decision to open accession talks with Croatia on 18 March 2005 conditioned upon full cooperation with the ICTY. The meeting in March was postponed for failure to meet the condition and the EU created an ad hoc group to monitor Croatia’s compliance. The ICTY Chief Prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte reports to the EU presidency on Croatia’s cooperation with the tribunal. Based on the report, the ad hoc group makes a recommendation as to whether accession talks should begin. Reuters reported that the EU will not consider Croatia to be in full compliance until Ante Gotovina, who has been indicted for war crimes, is arrested. The ad hoc group met in April, in June 2005 and again in July to review Croatia’s progress. After all meetings, accession talks remained on hold. Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia are working together to develop a plan to arrest and prosecute war criminals that have not yet been apprehended. The EU Enlargement Commissioner indicated in June that “[s]ome progress has been made, but for the time being [Croatia’s] cooperation cannot be described as full.” Gotovina remains at large and Croatia continues to wait for EU accession negotiations to begin.
Due to the postponements, Croatia may have to face an additional obstacle to entry. The Treaty of Nice was signed in 2003 to alter the institutions of the European Union to accommodate enlargement. However, the Treaty limits membership to 27 total EU member states. There are currently 25. Until the accession talks with Croatia were postponed, three countries – Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania – were expected to accede to the EU in 2007. Croatia is no longer expected to accede until 2009 and would therefore be the 28th EU member state. Because the recently proposed Constitution did not pass, accession procedures continue to be governed by Nice. Nonetheless, Croatia remains on the agenda and the EU remains committed to resuming talks with Croatia when Croatia cooperates fully with the ICTY.
In the meantime, Croatia continues to improve its infrastructure to meet EU standards. On 7 June 2005, a Memorandum of Understanding on the PSO (Programma Samenwerking Oost-Europa) was signed by the Minister for Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and by the Croatian State Secretary for European Integration in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. The Dutch program is designed to “support the strengthening of the institutions and the administrative possibilities of the Republic of Croatia in order to meet the criteria for full membership in the European Union.” It provides support for numerous economic sectors of Croatia. In addition, the government developed the National Programme for the Integration of the Republic of Croatia into the EU for 2005. The Programme recognizes that the “[p]rohibition of discrimination against women is especially important within the context of enforcing economic, social and cultural rights so as to prevent discrimination against women in the exercise of their rights.” The priorities listed for 2005 include strengthening the implementation of the gender equality policy, enhancing national legislation on geder equality, increasing female representation in government, introducing gender-sensitive education and preparing a National Policy for the Promotion of Gender Equality for 2005 – 2010.
Compiled from:“European Commission Opinion on the Application of Croatia for Membership of the European Union,” European Union, (COM(2004) 257 final) (20 April 2004).”Memorandum of Understanding on the PSO Pre-accession Programme Signed,” Croatia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, 7 June 2005.”Croatia Not Yet Cooperating with UN – EU Commission,” Reuters, 8 June 2005.”Croatia EU Progress ‘Not Enough’,” BBC News, 8 June 2005. ”EU Shifting Enlargement to the Backburner?,” EurActive.com, 14 June 2005.”EU Continues to Keep Zagreb Waiting,” EurActive.com, 13 June 2005.”EU-Croatia Relations,” EurActive.com, 16 March 2005.”National Programme for the Integration of the Republic of Croatia into the European Union - 2005, Croatia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, 2005Croatia: Opinion on the application of Croatia for membership in the European Union, European Union, 20 April 2004. The EU’s Relations with Croatia, European Union Website, June 2003. European Commission Recommends Membership Talks with Croatia, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 21 April 2004. The Issue of Gender Equality in the Republic of Croatia in the Light of Adjustment to Acquis Communautaire: a Research Statement, Mario Vinkovic, UK-Croatia Gender Equality Project, 2003 (PDF, 2 pages).