Croatia
Croatia is the most successful Balkan State in terms of development. The country applied for EU-membership as early as in 2003, but a drawn-out dispute over general Ante Gotovina, who is wanted for war crimes, stalled the discussions.
Population: 4.5 million
Area: 56 594 km2
GDP (PPP): 78.52 billion dollars (2010 estimate)
GDP per capita (PPP): 17 500 $ (2010 estimate)
Rate of growth: -1,4 % (2010 estimate)
Head of state: Ivo Josipović
Head of government: Zoran Milanovic´ (SDP)
Gotovina was arrested in 2005 and negotiations were resumed. Furthermore, Croatia is a member of NATO since 2009.
Democratic development in Croatia has been rapid. However, the country is still relatively poor and the economy is growing at a modest rate. Economic reforms, a reform of the legal system as well as action against corruption are the most important steps in the remaining stages of membership negotiations. Freedom of speech and freedom of press is guaranteed by the constitution and the media is independent of the state. Freedom of association and religion is also safeguarded by the constitution. There are no reports of election fraud.
As of 2004, the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation cooperates with Hrvatska demokratska zajednica (HDZ). HDZ was originally the party of the former Croatian president Franjo Tudjman. It lost its governmental position as a consequence of Tudjman’s death in 2000, but it returned to power in 2003. By then the party had been thoroughly reformed. HDZ has worked relentlessly for EU-membership. In October 2011 the EU Commission stated “that Croatia meets the political criteria and [the Commission] expects Croatia to meet the economic and acquis criteria and to be ready for membership by 1 July 2013.”
The overarching goal of the various projects being conducted by the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation in Croatia is to strengthen HDZ. Currently, there are three distinct projects in progress. The first project concerns the creation and development of democratic party structures and involves knowledge transfer in terms of developing political organisations and policy. There is also a special emphasis on women and youths. The Foundation acts as an advisor on such matters on the national, regional and local level. In order to further the development of democratic party structures, the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation promotes the value of democracy, market economy, rule of law, human rights and tolerance.
The second project is about encouraging the Balkan States to strive for EU-membership. In this respect, Croatia has come a long way and the need to educate EU-officials from Croatia is pressing.
The third project concerns minorities. Stability in the region hinges on the relations between majority and minority groups. A certain degree of distrust remains among different ethnic groups and it contributes to unnecessary tensions within and between the Balkan States.
