CROATIA’S STAGNATION IN THE EU

Although Croatian expectations from joining the European Union were high, so far they have not been met. Croatia is falling to the bottom of the European Union. According to gross domestic product per capita Croatia holds the second-last position in the European Union. Only Bulgaria is left behind, but not for long as it has been showing higher growth rates in recent years. The cause of Croatian economic stagnation is not its membership in the European Union, but the mistakes of national macroeconomic policy and the complete lack of industrial policy as a key economic policy. While enacting new measures, the mistakes of the old ones and the sources of stagnation are not analysed, making Croatia go into vicious circles of inconsistently crafted policies. The European Union has been facing some of its biggest challenges since its establishment. Its main economic objective, the convergence of Member States and their homogenised development, has not been achieved. The crisis in Greece has significantly downgraded the country and increased Euroscepticism, United Kingdom is ready to exit the European Union, and in many Member States anti-European Union movements or movements against specific European Union policies are on the rise. It is obvious that the existing concept of the European Union is no longer viable. There have been changes in the economic, technological and political sphere since its establishment and there are no specific suggestions as to its future development within the new context. The global economic and political system created after the Second World War has started changing as well. All these circumstances are bringing more considerable and more complex challenges to Croatian politics.