Germany and the European ambitions of Croatia (1991-2013)

Abstract

Given the historical traditions o f Croatia’s cooperation with Germany, having obtained independence in 1991, Croatia turned first to Bonn and then to Berlin with respect to its European ambitions. Germany gladly accepted the role of the ‘advocate’ o f Croatian interests in the European Union, although the government o f President F. Tudjman could hardly be treated as democratic and Croatia - as a state o f law. The reports on Croatian crimes committed in the course of the Balkan war in the period of 1991-1995 and its refusal to collaborate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia weakened German support for Croatian attempts to join the EU. When these obstacles were removed, once again Germany assumed the role of an active promoter o f Croatian interests in Brussels, although German commitment was less enthusiastic than in the 1990s. This is well illustrated by Germany’s delay in ratifying the accession treaty with Croatia.