The portal of the Editorial Network of Germany (RND) published an extensive report about life in Croatia, the youngest member of the European Union (EU). It is about corruption and high inflation, about enthusiasm for the EU and young people leaving the country.
In a report on the online portal of the Editorial Network of Germany (RND) about life in Croatia, the youngest member of the EU, author Thorsten Fuchs notes that the figures show Croatia’s unquestionable economic progress after eleven years of EU membership.
The gross domestic product increased from almost 60 to a good 71 billion United States (U.S.) dollars (127 billion BAM) in 2022, unemployment fell from 17 to 6 to 7 percent, and annual wages are almost as high as in Poland and Hungary. In addition, the country receives enormous financial aid from the EU, 30 billion euros (53 billion BAM) only from 2021 to 2027,” the text states.
Corruption and “democratic regression”
“But at the same time, corruption is also pointed out as a big problem. In the past eight years, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic had to dismiss 30 ministers, most of them because of accusations of corruption. The country is only in 56th place in Transparency International’s global corruption index. According to the new law, whistleblowers who quote from investigative files face a sentence of up to three years in prison. According to a new survey, 74 percent of the population is dissatisfied with the direction in which the country is developing,” writes RND.
The author also quotes Sonja Schirmbeck from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Zagreb. “Outwardly, the government presents itself as pro-European and committed to the rule of law, but internally we see a huge democratic regression.” Therefore, no matter how bleak the image that citizens have of their politicians, “many are satisfied with the fact that they are part of Europe. Especially considering their own history,” the author states.
Young people are thinking about leaving
Despite rising standards and a low unemployment rate, the economic situation of young people is still bad. Housing prices and general living expenses are constantly rising, writes the German journalist. He gives the example of Emanuel, a 21-year-old who works as a waiter and earns 1,000 euros (1,955 BAM) a month.
That doesn’t sound bad at first glance, but in the end he doesn’t have much left when he pays 550 euros (1,075 BAM) for the apartment alone. “Therefore, more and more young Croats are thinking about leaving the country. According to a representative survey by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which will be published in the fall, today 40 percent more young people are thinking about emigrating than six years ago.
The trend is already noticeable, recently the number of inhabitants fell below four million. And Emanuel wants to go, to Ireland or Sweden, because he heard that everyone there speaks English. All his friends think so, says Emanuel. In 20 years, Croatia will be empty”, according to the text of the German journalist Thorsten Fuchs on the RND portal, writes Deutsche Welle.
