Foreign relations of Croatia

History

Croatian foreign policy has focused on greater Euro-Atlantic integration, mainly entering the European Union and NATO. In order to gain access to European and trans-Atlantic institutions, it has had to undo many negative effects of the breakup of Yugoslavia and the war that ensued, and improve and maintain good relations with its neighbors.

Key issues over the last decade have been the implementation of the Dayton Accords and the Erdut Agreement, nondiscriminatory facilitation of the return of refugees and displaced persons from the 1991-95 war including property restitution for ethnic Serbs, resolution of border disputes with Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia and Montenegro, and general democratization.

Croatia has had an uneven record in these areas between 1996 and 1999 during the right-wing HDZ government, inhibiting its relations with European Union and the U.S. Improvement in these areas severely hindered the advance of Croatia's prospects for further Euro-Atlantic integration. Progress in the areas of Dayton, Erdut, and refugee returns were evident in 1998, but progress was slow and required intensive international engagement.

Croatia's unsatisfactory performance implementing broader democratic reforms in 1998 raised questions about the ruling party's commitment to basic democratic principles and norms. Areas of concern included restrictions on freedom of speech, one-party control of public TV and radio, repression of independent media, unfair electoral regulations, a judiciary that is not fully independent, and lack of human and civil rights protection.

A center-left coalition government was elected in early 2000. The SDP-led government slowly relinquished control over public media companies and did not interfere with freedom of speech and independent media, though it didn't complete the process of making the Croatian Radiotelevision independent. Judiciary reforms remained a pending issue as well.

Croatia was admitted into NATO's Partnership for Peace Program in May 2000; admitted into World Trade Organization in July 2000; signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU in October 2001; became part of NATO's Membership Action Program in May 2002; became a member of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) in December 2002; and finally applied for membership in the EU in February 2003, the last major international undertaking of the Račan government.

Foreign relations were severely impacted by the government's hesitance and stalling of the extradition of Croatian general Janko Bobetko to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and inability to take general Ante Gotovina into custody for questioning by the Court.

Refugee returns accelerated since 1999, reached a peak in 2000, but then slightly decreased in 2001 and 2002. The OSCE mission in Croatia has continued to monitor the return of refugees and is still recording civil rights violations. Croatian Serbs continue to have problems with restitution of property and acceptance to the reconstruction assistance programs. Combined with lacking economic opportunities in the rural areas of former Krajina, the return process is highly troubled.

At the time of Croatia's application to the European Union, three EU countries were yet to ratify the Stabilization and Association Agreement: United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Italy.

The new Sanader government repeated the assurances that Croatia will fulfill the missing political obligations, and expedited the extradition of several ICTY indictees. The country was finally accepted as EU candidate in July 2004, and Italy and Britain ratified the SA agreement shortly thereafter.

Current events

Croatia applied for membership in the European Union in 2003 and submitted a 7,000-page report in reply to the questionnaire by the European Commission. The Commission in turn replied to it on April 20, 2004 with a positive opinion. The goal is to join Bulgaria and Romania in the planned expansion of the Union in 2007.

Government officials in charge of foreign policy include the Minister of Foreign Affairs, currently Miomir Žužul, and the President of the Republic, currently Stjepan Mesić.

As of 2004, Croatia has diplomatic missions in 124 locations around the world, including two permanent missions to the United Nations. A complete listing of Croatian embassies in foreign countries is available at "Diplomatic Missions and Consular Offices" at the web site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

International organizations

Republic of Croatia participates in the following international organizations:

BIS, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMOGIP, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Foreign support

Croatia receives support from donor programs of:

• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
• European Commission
• International Monetary Fund
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• USAID
• World Bank

By the end of 2002, the EBRD had directly invested a total of 1,179,807,000 EUR into projects in Croatia.

In 1998, U.S. support to Croatia came through the Southeastern European Economic Development Program (SEED), whose funding in Croatia totaled $23.25 million. More than half of that money was used to fund programs encouraging sustainable returns of refugees and displaced persons. About one-third of the assistance was used for democratization efforts, and another 5% funded financial sector restructuring.

In 2003, USAID considered Croatia to be on a "glide path for graduation" along with Bulgaria. Its 2002/2003/2004 funding includes around $10 million for economic development, up to $5 million for the development of democratic institutions, about $5 million for the return of population affected by war and between 2 and 3 million dollars for the "mitigation of adverse social conditions and trends". A rising amount of funding is given to cross-cutting programs in anti-corruption, a bit under one million dollars.

International disputes

Relations with neighboring states have normalized somewhat since the breakup of Yugoslavia. Work has begun — bilaterally and within the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe since 1999 — on political and economic cooperation in the region.

Discussions continue between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina on sections of the Una River and villages at the base of Mount Plješevica. The Zagreb-Bihać-Split railway line is still closed due to the undefined border. The border on the Sava river between Hrvatska and Bosanska Kostajnica is also being discussed, as well as transit rights through Neum in the south.

Parliamentarians are far from ratifying the Croatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement, which would have ceded most of the Bay of Piran and maritime access to Slovenia and several villages to Croatia. Slovenia is disputing Croatia's claim to establish an economic section of the Adriatic, requiring direct access to the international waters. Croatia didn't ratify the boundary agreement and instead later decided to pursue a policy of stricter control over fishing and other economic use of the sea.

In late 2002, Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro adopted an interim agreement to settle the disputed Prevlaka peninsula at the entrance of the Bay of Kotor, allowing the withdrawal of the UN monitoring mission. Full demilitarization of the area is pending.

Croatia and Italy continue to debate bilateral property and ethnic minority rights issues stemming from border changes after the Second World War.

Illicit drugs

Croatia is a transit point along the Balkan route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe.

It has also been used as a minor transit point for maritime shipments of South American cocaine bound for Western Europe.

External links

• Economic Reconstruction and Development in South East Europe - Croatia
• EBRD and Croatia
• Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe
• Opinion of the European Commission on the application of Croatia for membership of the European Union