THE GEOGRAPHY (Foreign Office UK)
Area: 58,540 sq km (22,830 sq mi)
Population: 4.7m
Capital City: Zagreb (population: 1m)
People: Croatian, Serb, Slavic Muslim,
Hungarian, Slovene and Italian
Languages: Croatian, Serbian, Italian
and Slovene
Religion: Roman Catholic, Orthodox,
Muslim
Currency: Kuna
Major Political Parties: Social
Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP),
Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS),
Croatian Peasant Party (HSS),
Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
Government: Parliamentary Democracy
THE HISTORY (Foreign Office UK)
Recent History
Although Croatia broke away from
Yugoslavia in June 1991 simultaneously
with Slovenia at the start of the
break-up of the Federation, its
secession met with fierce resistance
from Yugoslavia partly because of the
significant Serb population in Croatia. A
year earlier, Franjo Tudjman had been
appointed President of the HDZ
(Croatian Democratic Union, a party
which he founded in 1989) in Croatia's
first multi-party elections, while
Croatia was still part of the Socialist
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. These
elections removed the Communists
from power. Tudjman's electoral
platform did not call specifically for
independence, but made a bid for a
free and sovereign Croatia. This ignited
an exultant display of Croatian
nationalism which convinced the
substantial (12%) Serb element of
Croatia's population that their rights
were in danger. The introduction of a
new Constitution changed the definition
of the Croatian Republic reducing the
status of Serbs from equal citizens to
a minority in a foreign state. This move
confirmed Serb suspicions, which
were then stoked by Belgrade-based
politicians and media, priming the Serb
population for the conflict that
followed.
In 1990, as Croatian calls for
independence grew louder, Serbian
Democratic Party (SDS) leader Jovan
Raskovic organised a referendum in
August on Serbian autonomy within
Croatia. Armed Serb/Croat
confrontation flared up as Serbian
irregulars moved in to the city of Knin
to guarantee voting. The referendum
resulted in the Knin-based Serbian
National Council declaring autonomy for
the 'Serbian Autonomous Region of
Krajina' in October 1990, followed four
months later by a declaration of
independence from Croatia. In May
1991, the Krajina announced that
henceforth it considered itself a part
of Serbia. There were violent clashes
throughout the period.
Croatia and Slovenia announced their
independence from Yugoslavia on 25
June 1991. In response, Yugoslavia
despatched its army (JNA) in a show
of force designed to get Slovenia to
back down. After a 10-day war
brought to an end through an EC
mediated deal between Yugoslavia and
Slovenia, the JNA withdrew from
Slovenia and concentrated its efforts
in Croatia, where open conflict began
in July 1991. While the war continued,
Croatia's Serbian 'autonomous regions'
united in December 1991 to form the
self-styled 'Republic of Serbian Krajina'
('RSK'). In January 1992, the American
mediator Cyrus Vance brokered a deal
to despatch to the region a UN
Protection Force (UNPROFOR), and
hostilities between Yugoslavia and
Croatia came to an end. However, the
situation over the 'RSK', which Croatia
considered an illegal Serb occupation of
one third of its sovereign territory,
remained unresolved.
In December 1995, President Tudjman
signed the General Framework for
Peace Agreement, known as the Dayton
Agreement.
The first parliamentary (Lower House)
and Presidential elections (under the
revised Croatian Constitution of 1990)
were held in August 1992. Franjo
Tudjman was elected as President. At
the same time, negotiations over the
'RSK' continued between Zagreb and
Croatian Serb leaders within the
framework of the International
Conference on former Yugoslavia,
established at the August 1992 London
Conference. But there was no
progress. A surprise attack by
Croatian troops in January 1993
resulted in the recovery of the
strategically important Straits of
Maslenica. Throughout 1994, relations
between Croatia and the 'RSK'
improved, but the latter's leadership
continued to resist any form of political
reintegration into Croatia. Frustrated
at the lack of progress on the
diplomatic track, Croatia launched a
sudden military offensive ('Flash') in
May 1995, which rapidly recaptured
Western Slavonia. In August 1995, a
second Croatian military action
('Storm') in the Krajina left Eastern
Slavonia as the only remaining
Serb-controlled area within Croatia's
territory. The Krajina Serb population
was encouraged to leave by the 'RSK'
leadership and the vast majority (over
250,000 did so). Widespread reports of
human rights violations by Croatian
forces during and after the military
operations led the EU to suspend its
assistance programme (PHARE) and
negotiations on an EU/Croatian
Economic and Trade Agreement.
Parliamentary elections were held in
October 1995, resulting in the HDZ
winning 75 of 127 available seats. This
was less than expected given the
euphoria generated by the
government's decisive military actions,
coupled with changes to the electoral
law designed to favour the ruling party.
The HDZ (the governing party) lost
control of Zagreb city council but
Tudjman refused to accept an
opposition mayor, proposing instead a
coalition authority. In December 1995,
President Tudjman signed the General
Framework for Peace, known as the
Dayton Agreement.
Longer Historical Perspective
BBC News Country Timeline: Croatia
POLITICS
Recent Political Developments
As the defender of Croatian
independence and territorial integrity,
the HDZ enjoyed unchallenged power
from 1990 until President Tudjman's
death on 10 December 1999. But the
HDZ's nationalist policies combined with
a failure to meet international
commitments on the protection of
human rights and commitment to
democratic standards, effectively
isolated Croatia from the European
mainstream.
Since the death of President Tudjman,
the Croatian political landscape has
changed beyond recognition. Ivica Racan
led a coalition of opposition parties to
victory in parliamentary elections on 3
January 2000 and has since succeeded
in fashioning a functioning coalition
Government. Stjepan Mesic won the
second round of the presidential
elections on 7 February 2000 and was
inaugurated as President on 18
February 2000.
Since gaining office, Prime Minister
Racan and President Mesic have
pursued economic and political reform
programmes. These have included
restructuring of the Croatian Armed
Forces and Civil Service; working
towards the establishment of an
independent, public broadcasting
service and liberalisation of the media;
a new approach to Croatia's ethnic
minorities, including removal of some
legislative provisions which
discriminated against ethnic Serb
refugees; and constitutional reform.
Racan and Mesic have established
partnerships with the Council of
Europe and the Organisation for
Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Little progress was made on the
return of ethnic Serb refugees under
Tudjman. Since the beginning of 2000,
UNHCR and other international agencies
have reported more promising signs.
The Government has announced
several encouraging initiatives to tackle
the problems associated with refugee
return. It is important that these
initiatives are now successfully
implemented.
In February 2002, Drazen Budisa was
re-elected as the leader of the HSLS
(a centre-right coalition party),
beating the then Defence Minister Jozo
Rados. He had resigned as leader of the
HSLS in July 2001 in protest over the
Government's decision to extradite
Generals Gotovina and Ademi to The
Hague. After intense negotiations, two
Ministers left the coalition, with Prime
Minister Racan agreeing to Budisa
replacing Granic as Deputy Prime
Minister.
In early July, eight of the HSLS's
twenty-three MPs voted against the
government in opposing the ratification
of an agreement with Slovenia to jointly
manage the Krsko nuclear power
station in Slovenia. This move led to the
creation of a new party, HSLS
breakaway, Libra û whose members
include former Defence Minister Rados
and former Deputy Prime Minister
Granic. Prime Minister Racan resigned
shortly after on 5 July. He was
re-appointed as caretaker PM by
President Mesic and given thirty days
to form a government.
The new Government led by Racan was
approved by the Sabor at the end of
July. It consists of the SDP (Social
Democrats), HSS (Croatian Peasant's
Party), HNS (Croatian People's Party),
LS (Liberal Party) and LIBRA
(Independent Liberal Party). The HSLS
was removed from the Coalition, with
Budisa being replaced as Deputy Prime
Minister by Professor Ante Simonic of
the HSS.
Croatia was recently accepted into the
NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP),
and is now working to implement the
Stabilisation and Association Agreement
(SAA) which it signed with the EU last
year. Relations with Croatia's
neighbours, particularly FRY and
Bosnia-Hercegovina have improved
significantly.
THE ECONOMY (Foreign Office UK)
Basic Economic Facts
GDP: US$ 20.26bn
GDP per head: US$ 4,566
Annual Growth: 3%
Inflation: 5%
Major Industries: Steel, cement,
chemicals, fertilisers, textiles and
pharmaceuticals
Major trading partners: EU, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Slovenia
Exchange Rate: 12 Kuna/ú (February
2003)
Further information on Croatia's
economy can be found on the Trade
Partners UK Country Profile: Croatia
The Racan government has tried to get
a grip on Croatia's public finances,
after a decade of economic
mismanagement and the effects of
war. It has introduced budget cuts and
initiated a wide-ranging economic
reform programme. Negotiations with
the IMF on a new stand-by agreement
have been completed and the World
Bank has agreed a US$20m loan. It now
seems as though the economy has
started to come out of recession. The
economy grew by an estimated 4% in
2001 and similar growth is expected in
2002. But further reforms are
necessary, as is action to tackle the
23% official unemployment rate.
Priority areas include pension reform,
health service reform and the ending
of subsidies to state-owned
enterprises, if the economy is to
prosper. Croatia is keen to attract
inward investment.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Croatia's Relations with Neighbours
The impact of Racan and Mesic's
policies has been greatest in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Under President Tudjman,
Croatia failed to implement the spirit of
the Dayton Peace Agreement and
actively supported anti-Dayton groups
with Bosnia. On gaining office, Racan
and Mesic promised an end to these
policies. They have moved rapidly to
place any future Croatian support for
the Bosnian-Croat armed forces on a
transparent footing. Their support for
a multi-ethnic Bosnia is clear.
President Mesic met FRY President
Kostunica and the state level Bosnian
Presidency in Sarajevo on 15 July 2002
to underline their commitment to the
implementation of Dayton and regional
co-operation on cross border issues
such as organised crime and progress
towards European integration.
The two countries worked closely in
the last couple of years towards
reaching agreement on the future
status of the Prevlaka Peninsula. The
UN Peacekeeping Mission (UNMOP)
which was stationed there drew to a
close at the end of 2002. The
completion of the UN mandate in
Prevlaka and the re-establishment of
Croatia's sovereignty over the area
ensued after Croatia and Yugoslavia
signed an agreement on Tuesday 10
December on a temporary regime
along the southern borderline. The
peninsula has been the subject of
dispute for ten years. The protocol
represents a further step forward in
the process of strengthening of
confidence and good-neighbourly
relations between both Croatia and
FRY, and bolsters peace and stability to
the regions.
Croatia also maintains good relations
with a number of Central and Eastern
European States.
FCO Minister, Denis MacShane,
welcomes agreement on the Prevlaka.
Croatia's Relations with the
International Community
Croatia's foreign policy priorities
include closer relations with
international organisations. The new
government has made rapid progress;
Croatia joined Partnership for Peace
(PfP) in May 2000 and the WTO in
June 2000. Croatia's Stabilisation and
Association Agreement, the first step
towards a closer relationship with the
EU was initialled on 12 May 2001 and
signed on 29 October 2001. Croatia is
now working towards implementing the
conditions of the SAA, in preparation
for eventual EU membership.
The highlight of FCO Minister Denis
MacShane's visit to Zagreb in May
2002 was the launch of the UK Croatia
EU Action Plan, which provides
assistance to Croatia in implementing
its SAA. The launch was widely
reported in the Croatian media.
Parliament's ratification of the SAA has
been postponed due to the Croatian
Government's failure to fully
co-operate with ICTY (See
'Co-operation with ICTY').
In Athens on 21 February 2003,
President Mesic and Prime Minster
Racan presented Croatia's EU
membership application to the Greek
Prime Minister Kostas Simitis,
Chairman of the European Council. The
UK is a champion of enlargement and
recognises the regional stability that it
will bring. However, before the EU can
open membership negotiations the
European Commission must give a
positive account of Croatia's
performance against the so-called
Copenhagen political criteria -which
includes important issues like ICTY
co-operation, refugee return, respect
for minority rights and judicial reform.
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