Croatia and the EU: the catch-up issue. CEPS Commentary, 28 June 2013

To become a prosperous country devoid of institutional preconditions for corruption, Croatia will have to define its own goals, persevere in reaching them and introduce some sort of internal monitoring. True political will, democratisation, government accountability and appropriate policies are crucial, particularly for the institutions and mechanisms that monitor government accountability and citizen participation. One can only reiterate the European Commission’s hope that membership will prove to be an additional incentive to Croatia’s politicians to change their behaviour and start addressing state capture in the country.

Croatia and the structural funds – Doing without an Ottoman Empire bypass bridge. CEPS Commentary, 29 July 2013

In his latest commentary, Associate Senior Fellow Michael Emerson hails Croatia’s accession to the EU as a fine step forward towards the official goal of integration of the whole of the Balkans into the EU. At the same time, he warns of the folly underway of the serious attention being paid by the European Commission to the newest member state’s petition to construct a multi-million euro bridge over a 9-km stretch of Bosnian land (the ‘Neum corridor’) that inconveniently but temporarily interrupts a non-stop drive along Croatia’s Dalmatian coast.