On Wednesday, February 12, a round table “European Union at a turning point: main challenges and impact on Croatia” was held in the premises of the Representation of the European Commission in Croatia. The round table was jointly organized by the Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO) and the Representation of the European Commission in Croatia. The event was moderated by the renowned Croatian journalist Jasmina Popović.
The event opened with welcoming addresses by Zrinka Ujević, Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Croatia and Sanja Tišma, Director of the Institute. The presenters drew numerous parallels between the time when Croatia was joining the European Union and today, when it has been functioning as a full EU member for more than ten years.
As part of the round table, the recently published book “Crisis Era European Integration: Economic, Political and Social Lessons from Croatia” by the renowned London-based publisher Routledge, was promoted. The book’s editors, IRMO researchers Jakša Puljiz and Hrvoje Butković, as well as Goran Čular from the Faculty of Political Sciences in Zagreb, one of the reviewers, spoke about the book and its various chapters. The speakers pointed out that since accession, Croatia has made great progress in terms of public policy creation, transparency, building administrative capacities and socialization of actors within the multi-level governance system of the European Union. However, the room for learning and further improvements is still significant, especially in some areas.
The presentation of the book was followed by two thematic panels, during which discussions were encouraged on some of the topics from the promoted book. The first thematic panel “Governing the European Union through crises: achievements and new opportunities” was attended by the following speakers: Oriana Ivković Novokmet, executive director of GONG, Željko Trkanjac, columnist for Jutarnji list and Hanza Media, as well as IRMO researchers Senada Šelo Šabić and Hrvoje Butković. The speakers discussed topics such as: external relations of the European Union, the war in the Ukraine, expectations from the newly elected U.S. president, the possibilities of further EU enlargement, migrant pressure on Europe, and future of the European Union. Although polemics developed among the speakers over some issues, they all agreed that, to achieve a better global positioning, the European Union needs unity and solidarity more than ever before.
The second thematic panel “Socio-economic development of Croatia under the influence of EU policies” was attended by the following participants: Maroje Lang, Vice Governor of the Croatian National Bank, Maruška Vizek from the Institute of Economics Zagreb, Zdenko Babić from the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, Josip Tica from the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb, and Jakša Puljiz from IRMO. The speakers discussed important topics related to: the introduction of the euro in Croatia and its impact on the economy, inflation, housing policies, as well as the role of European policies in shaping socio-economic development. The panel provided expert insights and encouraged a constructive debate on the direction of future economic policies. The discussion emphasized the importance of European policies as a key framework for the economic development of Croatia, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of such an environment. The panellists touched upon numerous challenges and measures that are important in the context of economic sustainability.
