Grayling International Blog

Croatian fateful “yes“

publiziert am 27.01.2012 Von Natasa Trslic Stambak

Last weekend was a historical one for Croatia. At the referendum, 66%* of Croatian citizens have ticked the box “yes” supporting the European Union entry. Last weekend was a turning point for Union itself – the results of the Croatian referendum showed that the EU is still a desirable community. Finally, last weekend was a positive impulse for the rest of SEE region, showing that long and often painful reforms bring results.

Despite the historical moment, atmosphere in Croatia in the period up to the EU referendum was far away from EUphoria and elation. Even the EU advocates weren’t very successful or aggressive in vocalising the EU benefits. The lack of euphoria is evident in the turnout of voters with only 44% (less than 2 million) people exercising their civil duty. However, it has to be emphasised that the positive results are registered in all counties and all cities – only in very few municipalities (18 out of 556) the voters said “no” to EU. Although the turnout was quite modest, the stance of Croatian citizens who did go to referendum is clear and conclusive, showing that there aren’t a large number of EU opponents in Croatia.

In addition to (irrational) fear of cultural & historical identity loss, negative feelings towards the EU have been caused by long and very demanding negotiation process. Current economy crisis in Europe and disorientation of EU leaders when handling the issues certainly didn’t help Croatians to overcome the fear of EU.

Nevertheless, the EU accession process will make it into the history books as one of the rare moments which have succeeded to unite all major political parties in Croatia in supporting the EU, in addition to the support by the most important Croatian institutions, including the Church, and many distinctive individuals. The largest surprise of all – a call to Croatian citizens to vote for EU was also made by the general Ante Gotovina, for many Croats a national hero, who is currently in custody in The Hague under suspicion for war crimes.

Croatian EU entry represents the achievement of strategic goal set at the very beginning of Croatian statehood. Several Croatian governments, both right- and left-wing, have worked hard to achieve this goal. All key stakeholders agree that EU entry, in addition to joining NATO, is crucial for Croatia – if nothing else, than in ensuring national security. The Croatian advocates of integrations also emphasise country’s cultural and political connection to Europe and European heritage. All of these reasons will make 1^st July 2013, when Croatia will join EU, a truly historical moment.

Croatian EU entry is significant because the country will join – even now, in times of crisis – one of the most vibrant and dynamic markets of the world. The European market is defined by norms, set of rules and huge competition – something that Croats are not used dealing with. The European market should motivate Croatia to make a large step forward in strengthening its economy and changing its approach to business and development.

If Croatia manages to show that making all of these changes isn’t mission impossible, this will give a strong impulse to other countries in SEE region. First in line is impatient Serbia. But, Serbs still have a long and difficult road full of challenges and traps in front of them.

* 66% of citizens who came out to the polls