A Conflict of Interests: Croatia and the Balkans after EU Membership
Croatia’s official government policy towards enlargement into the Western Balkans is shaped by a number of different, sometimes complimentary, sometimes conflicting factors. When it joined the EU as the Union’s 28th member in July 1, 2013, this country of 4.3 million inhabitants ranked 21st in terms of both population size and GDP making it one of the smallest countries in the organization.