In the small Croatian village of Kumrovec (population 1,600), near the border with Slovenia, snow is falling on the birthplace of communist revolutionary Tito. Less than a month has passed since Croatia entered the new year as a full member of the European Union (EU). A statue of the man who ruled Yugoslavia for 35 years after World War II looks down at the entrance to his old house, which has been turned into a museum. But Croatia’s four million citizens are rejoicing – there is no time for nostalgia, not even in this city where more than 100,000 tourists come each year to visit the birthplace of Josip Broz, commonly known as Tito.

The border crossing with Slovenia is less than a minute’s drive from Tito’s house. The truckers waited for two or three hours to cross, but now there are no police or guards at the border post. 58 Croatian border crossings with Slovenia and 15 with Hungary are open, announced the Croatian Ministry of the Interior. The Croatian authorities believe that full integration into the EU will be entirely beneficial. But all this did not start until January 1. Boris Vujčić, Governor of the Croatian Central Bank, says that the long-term process of adopting the euro and entering the Schengen visa-free zone made it possible to bridge the problems brought by the Covid-19 crisis in 2020 and Russian invasion of Ukraine last year. “We coped more easily with the pressures on the foreign exchange and government bond markets,” said Vujčić.

Other officials expect increased tourism to benefit the entire country, not just the cities along its famous Adriatic coast. Martina Bienenfeld, head of the Zagreb Tourist Board, says that the capital and the country as a whole recorded the highest attendance in history in the first two weeks of January, which is 3% more than the previous record in 2019. Bienenfeld says that Zagreb as a tourist destination has started in 2013, when the country first joined the EU. “Before that we were one of the most boring places in Europe for nightlife. People from here traveled to Belgrade [Serbia] have fun. Now people from Belgrade come here because we are green, safe and European.”

Robert Šplajt, the 45-year-old mayor of Kumrovac (northern Croatia), believes that full EU integration will bring more tourists, more Slovenian investors and more European funding for projects such as the railway connecting Croatia and Slovenia. But Šplajt also regrets the slowness of key reforms. He says that wages are too low and food prices are too high, as a result of which 200 Kumrov residents have moved elsewhere. Many of them cross the border daily to work in Slovenia. “In our neighboring country, nurses can earn 1,800 euros [$1,960 per month]with us, the maximum is barely €1,000 [$1,100],” said Šplajt.

Croatia has lost 10% of its population since joining the EU. Šplajt says that many young Croats went to Ireland, Germany and other EU countries. “Migrants started coming from other Balkan countries, but later left to earn more money elsewhere. In the last two years, we have had Asian workers coming from places like Nepal and Bangladesh.”

Exports and tourism

Krešimir Sever is the president of the Independent Trade Unions of Croatia, the second largest trade union in the country in terms of membership. Sever says the average salary in the country is 870 euros ($947) a month, and the minimum is 557 euros ($606) a month. “The unions were attacked because they say we are against foreign workers. But we are only against low wages and fixed-term contracts.” The North cannot remember the current unemployment rate in the country (6.7% in November 2022). “Unemployment is not a problem in Croatia,” he said. “The problem is finding workers.”

The labor leader believes that joining the euro and the Schengen area will boost exports and tourism, which account for 20 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Spain is another country that depends heavily on these two sectors, but they only account for 12% of its GDP. The North blames the government for not foreseeing the rise in prices for companies that take advantage of the transition of the kuna (former national currency) to the euro. “We advised the government to create a blacklist of price-goers, but they ignored us. The government is now threatening to introduce it, but it is too late… We are handicapped by a weak political opposition and a lack of large companies that can drive our society forward.”

Some people in Kumrovac, the hometown of former President Tito, are very critical of the government. Dragutin Ulama was mayor before the appearance of his friend and current mayor Robert Šplajt. Ulama is the owner of a company that employs nine people, and believes that full integration into the EU will not change Croatia much. “More money will come from Europe, but that’s how it will be brings more corruption. There is a glass ceiling in this country for young people who want to work in the public sector, because you don’t get a job without connections. The best electricians, carpenters, plumbers and bricklayers left. Politicians are often unable to complete their public works projects because there are no more qualified workers in Croatia.”

Zvonimir Frka-Petešić is Prime Minister Andrej Plenković’s chief of staff. He says that the justice, health and education systems must be reformed before corruption can be effectively curbed, and believes that Croatia’s current path was hindered by the war in the 1990s that tore apart the nation of Yugoslavia. “At that time, we focused on gaining independence and establishing an army. We can’t criticize anyone for pointing out the problem, but sometimes they can’t see the forest for the trees.”

If we could see the whole forest, says Frka-Petešić, the Plenković administration’s efforts to develop an independent justice system would be better appreciated. “The system was not afraid to try members of the executive branch. This was almost unthinkable before this administration [which took office in 2016].”

Plenković’s administration received severe criticism for the slow reconstruction of homes destroyed by two earthquakes in 2020 (in Petrinja and Zagreb). The country risks losing EU funds if certain projects are not completed by June. Plenković has just appointed the new Minister of Construction Branko Bačić, the third in this position in the last two years.

A big challenge

Croatia’s participation in the Schengen visa-free zone will mean that the country of four million will have to control 843 miles (1,357 kilometers) of borders, more than 70 percent of which border Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is not yet a member of the EU. Irregular migrants regularly cross to Croatia from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. “Slovenes say that 500-600 irregular migrants have come to their country from Croatia since the beginning of the year,” Šplajt said.

More International non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have condemned the abuse and torture of migrants by the Croatian police. Sara Kekus, head of the Center for Peace Studies in Zagreb, says her organization provided evidence of masked police officers beating migrants in 2021. “Since then, there have been no more cases of torture, but migrants are still exposed to violence and degrading treatment,” she said. Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Davor Božinović says that Croatia has already “invested a lot” in protecting its borders. “But it’s a never-ending effort,” he said. “We must continue to improve our technical capabilities to detect migrants before they reach our borders.”

According to Božinović, the key control measure will be the harmonization of the visa regime of the EU with Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He says that people from other countries easily travel to Belgrade and Sarajevo and then enter Croatia illegally. “Until last year, we did not see migrants coming from Cuba,” said Božinović. “And not only Cuba, but also people from Burundi, India and many other African countries like Congo, Sierra Leone and others.” Another new trend in 2022 is everything Russians are asking for asylum. “We had up to 2,000 Russian asylum seekers in one year,” said Božinović.

It is a new era for Croatia, as Tito might have said. The majority of the people of Kumrov and throughout the country look forward to the changes that lie ahead and the new horizons opened by the newly opened borders.

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