Five years after it joined the EU on July 1, 2013, Croatia is still weighing up the balance sheet of this momentous change – which, along with NATO membership, completed the process of its detachment from the former Yugoslavia.
Most experts say Croatia has seen significant benefits from joining the European club – including access to a larger trading market and increased exports, as well as the possibility of drawing money from EU funds.
But the last five years have not been cost-free. Croatia has seen a mass exodus that the supposed benefits of EU membership have failed to curb or prevent.
The country also some homework to do. It has yet to align its regulations and practices with the EU when it comes to issues such as the fiscal framework, taxation, pensions and healthcare.
