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BackThe EU institutions have held negotiations with Croatia concerning the country’s accession to the European Union since 2005. The Council would like to conclude the talks with the Croatian representatives during the first half of 2011. However, no date has been set yet when Croatia will finally join the European Union.
This week, the European Parliament passed a resolution on the progress of the EU negotiations with Croatia. The European Parliament continues to be unreservedly in favour of Croatia’s membership in the European Union. Hungary, which currently holds the Presidency, would also like to conclude the negotiations with Croatia as soon as possible.
From the point of view of the EU institutions, more progress has to be made in respect of the public administration as well as with regard to fighting corruption and overcoming the structural weaknesses in the economy. Apart from that, the European Parliament recommends that the Croatian government addresses the very low employment rates and increases labour market participation. Problematic issues during the negotiations were in particular the boundary disputes with neighbouring countries such as Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, Croatia and Slovenia settled their dispute by signing a border arbitration agreement at the end of 2010.
However, what concerns the European Union is the scepticism of the Croatian population towards joining the EU. According to a Eurobarometer survey, the majority of Croats believe that EU membership would not be good for their country.
From the point of view of the EU institutions, more progress has to be made in respect of the public administration as well as with regard to fighting corruption and overcoming the structural weaknesses in the economy. Apart from that, the European Parliament recommends that the Croatian government addresses the very low employment rates and increases labour market participation. Problematic issues during the negotiations were in particular the boundary disputes with neighbouring countries such as Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, Croatia and Slovenia settled their dispute by signing a border arbitration agreement at the end of 2010.
However, what concerns the European Union is the scepticism of the Croatian population towards joining the EU. According to a Eurobarometer survey, the majority of Croats believe that EU membership would not be good for their country.