Croatia joins EU

Having started its accession negotiations with the EU on the same day as Turkey in October 2005, Croatia officially accessed the EU as the 28th member. Croatia, which separated from the former Yugoslavia in 1991 and has a population of 4.2 million, completed EU negotiations in 35 chapters in eight years, while Turkey completed negotiations in only one chapter. Accession celebrations enriched with the performance of 700 artists took place in Zagreb with the participation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Although it is possible to say that Croatia is ready for EU membership in political terms, it is hard to say the same thing in terms of the performance of the economy. Croatia's contribution to the EU will be limited just like in all the recent expansion waves. Croatia deserves appreciation for the performance it has exhibited for the last eight years as regards its capacity of compliance with the rules set by the EU, thanks to its "perseverance without stubbornness." "As of July 1st, we are opening up to a new perspective and a new world," said Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic, yet it is hard to say this is an opinion shared by all Croats. The rate of people believing in the short term benefits of membership in an environment of 20% unemployment rate, a contracting economy and continuation of problems related to organized crimes and corruption is very low. Turkey was represented by Turkey's Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis in the membership ceremony. "While the EU acquires a new member, Turkey acquires a new friend in the EU," said Bagis, wishing the same success for Turkey. But Turkey's accession process turned into a political rather than technical process, which means membership seems to be a distant target as long as there are not any changes in the current parameters.