engleski

The State of the Welfare State in EU: Croatia

As the last country to join the European Union, Croatia became the 28th Member State only in July 2013. Its legacy of different governing philosophies and systems influenced its political and social system of today, as well as a strong religious influence of the Roman Catholic Church. Although being a part of Yugoslavia, Croatia was very much influenced by Central European governing and political principles – Austro-Hungarian firstly. Germany was Croatian role-model for most reforms during the last three centuries, although the social system and its problems somewhat resemble Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Greece or Spain, as well as Central European transition economies such as Slovenia, Poland or Slovakia. Croatia started intensive economic and political cooperation with the EU one decade after most other countries from Central and Eastern Europe ; the transition period was therefore prolonged. In accordance with the constitutional definition, the Republic of Croatia is a “welfare state” and it should help and protect the vulnerable members of the society. The analysis points out that the existance of war, nation-building and humanitarian crisis factors strongly influenced the Croatian welfare system. Reluctantly bureaucratized state agencies, delayed transition and late ‘Europeanization’ contributed to the limiting reforms and uneven level of granting welfare privileges to specific segments of society.

Welfare State ; Croatia ; European Union ; Social Protection ; Social Reforms

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