In a referendum held on 22nd January, Croatians voted for their country to become the 28th member of the EU, with a yes vote of around 66%. Providing all 27 Member States ratify the accession, Croatia will become a member of the EU on 1st July 2013, becoming the second former Yugoslav state to do so after Slovenia.

However, the turnout of voters was only around 44%, which would suggest a certain apathy in the country towards EU membership. This could well be due to the Eurozone crisis : Croatia itself has been hit hard by the global economic meltdown, with high levels of debt and unemployment, and thus joining a Union with several countries in dire straits economically may have lost its appeal for many. On the other side of the coin, others point to the greater investment opportunities and access to wider job markets that membership will bring.

Image credit : Zagreb Regent Esplanade Hotel by JasonParis on flickr, licensed under CC-BY