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Post by MartinM on May 23, 2011 9:06:49 GMT 1
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Post by gmh on May 23, 2011 9:27:22 GMT 1
Seems to me that membership is always 2 years away. That's how it was when I moved here 6 years ago and that's how it is today.
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Post by Ribaric on May 23, 2011 10:19:16 GMT 1
At the risk of being negative or even pessimistic, the tough questions still haven't been answered. If you get shafted by anyone, you cannot get justice from the court system. That single problem invades all of Croatian life in that people (employers, businesses, service providers, even individuals) can and do some overtly illegal things with impunity because the victims are powerless to get redress. Add to this, the employment, manufacturing, growth and the ever growing debt problems, why would the EU agree to accession? Stabilising the Balkans is a great ideal but at what cost?
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Post by Carol on May 23, 2011 14:08:56 GMT 1
I agree, Rib. A properly functioning court system is the foundation for everything else. I don't know why the EU wants Croatia these days either. But what bothers me most is whether Croats still want the EU?
I have seen reports that say that until recently 60% of Croats were pro-EU membership but the number has dropped since Gotovina was convicted. However, I personally never saw much evidence of that being true in the first place. I met a lot of people in Croatia over the years but I can't remember meeting even one who wanted to join the EU (most were vehemently against, as were the local media).
Has anyone else met someone -not a foreigner - who wanted to join the EU at any time?
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Post by Ribaric on May 23, 2011 14:39:00 GMT 1
Not wishing to take up the opposite view carol but 90% of those around me are very keen to becme EU citizens. Their reasons vary between "I can get out and work in a proper country" all the way to "the EU will force us to be a real democracy". In between are those hold the (probably) realistic view that their real estate will grow in value and yet others who believe there will be a massive reformist movement which will sweep away the old guard and produce a meritocracy.
Perhaps Varazdin's location and influences make it a pro EU area although it is also true that villagers in the Zupanija are for more sceptical. They hear stories about the closing of all unregulated produce markets and the police stopping people selling stuff at their front gates. The anti lobby have an easier propaganda job than the pros.
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Post by Carol on May 23, 2011 14:47:10 GMT 1
could it be that those who live in zagreb and the surrounding area are pro-eu (perhaps because of proximity to the current EU border?) and those who live on the coast are anti-eu (due to, well, umm, err.. the same thing that makes them think Slobodna Dalmaciji is a newspaper!)?
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Post by Madgolfer on May 23, 2011 19:07:35 GMT 1
From the Croatian Times......
"Support for EU grows after negative April results"
The support for Croatia’s European Union membership has grown by several percentage points this month after April showed the lowest backing in the last five years, a new survey shows.
Research conducted by Hendal agency for Croatian Television (HTV) shows that 52 per cent of the country’s citizens would vote in favour of EU membership, over seven per cent more than last month. Forty per cent of residents would vote against it. A vast majority or 76 per cent would come out for the referendum if it were held today, HTV writes.
More than half or 56 per cent of those surveyed do not think that Croatia will be able to meet the June deadline for ending the negotiations. There are fewer than 30 per cent of those optimists, while the pessimists would first hold the conservative coalition government responsible for missing the deadline (72 per cent). Ten per cent say that the EU would be to blame if the end of negotiations were to be postponed, while 7.7 would pin the failure on the opposition.
Only 34.5 per cent believe that socio-economic circumstances will improve with the membership. Thirty-two per cent think things would be worse, while 30 per cent say that membership in the union will not change things very much.
Many think that membership would bring the loss of control over natural resources, but would open access to European Union markets, increasing the country's exports. Many also expect a greater efficacy of public services once the country joins the EU.
Few think that membership would result in improvements in the protection of human or worker's rights and a decrease in corruption.
The survey shows that Croatians want to be part of the European Union, but that they do not have great expectations of their country's membership.
The month of May began with a lowest support for the EU in the last five years, with only 44.6 per cent backing the membership. The low results were influenced by the guilty verdicts for the two Croatian generals sentenced in The Hague for war crimes.
At the time of the survey, 41.8 per cent of citizens were against the membership.
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Post by 3lions on May 24, 2011 4:33:36 GMT 1
Well they are told when they can join, and the Hapsburgs can wait for the right moment to tell them, which clearly isn't now. I think 2 years and another 2 years on top of that. That will allow the other Balkan nations to catch up a bit more and slot right in after them.
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Post by Madgolfer on May 24, 2011 7:41:32 GMT 1
Having waited so long to join you really couldn't pick a worse time to do so.
With other small countries such as Greece and Portugal in such a mess I cant imagine that the bureaucrats in Brussels are too happy about welcoming another "limited" economy into the fold.
But it does seem to me like a done deal now, even the British Govt have come out in favour.
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Post by Kaskader on May 24, 2011 7:45:49 GMT 1
Not sure how big of a concern is Croatian economy..as it is quite small size. Guys, I think the situation with Greece etc is shaping up for a perfect storm, Lehman Brothers will seem like a sneeze.
Croatian accession to the EU is minor concern, one which they could do without...let us in and concentrate on massive problems.
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Post by 3lions on May 25, 2011 0:00:51 GMT 1
I would like to think that the EU meant more than just money, that's what the original founders set out to achieve, but time moves on and everyone forgets.
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Post by Carol on May 25, 2011 7:34:19 GMT 1
it originally meant no more war in Europe. Then it meant "common market". What does it mean now? bail out??
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Post by ray51 on May 25, 2011 11:39:43 GMT 1
The Ponzi scheme !
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Post by 3lions on May 25, 2011 23:31:19 GMT 1
the whole is greater than the sum parts, even if it includes quite a few countries with dysfunctional "elites".
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Post by Madgolfer on Jun 5, 2011 14:41:08 GMT 1
Now we have the Vatican on our side. If the Croatian people needed any encouragement to join, the Pope just gave it his blessing. Pope Benedict XVI said on Saturday Croatia's forthcoming accession to the European Union was logical, right and necessary.
Culturally, Croatia has belonged to Central Europe for a long time and its people is deeply European, he told reporters on his flight from Rome to Zagreb, according to the Catholic news agency IKA.
By joining Europe, Croatia will find itself where it has always belonged, historically and culturally, the pope said, adding he understood the doubt in Croatia about EU accession.
In these circumstances it is understandable that a small country fears centralist bureaucracy and rationalist culture, the Holy Father said.
According to him, EU accession is a process of give and take and Croatia, with its rich cultural and religious heritage, can enrich Europe.
He objected to reducing the EU to a common market, saying Croatia's task is to contribute to European diversity, which is linked by the Christian tradition.
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