In his article on the current state of affairs in Croatia, Boris Pavelic argues that the country’s economic woes are providing an opening for the far-right. Croatia joined the European Union less than a year ago, but its debt and budget deficit are already above the limits required by the EU.
While the EU requires that the deficit of a member state should not exceed 3 per cent of its budget, the Commission noted that Croatia’s deficit had reached 5 per cent in 2012, and would stay above 3 per cent over the period 2013-2016.
Croatia’s EU treaty also requires that total government debt should not exceed 60 per cent of GDP, while Croatia has said it expects total debt to rise to 62 per cent of GDP in 2014, rising further in 2015 and 2016.
A decision on the application of an Excessive Deficit Procedure, EDP, to Croatia will be discussed at EU finance ministers meeting on January 28.
As is often the case, right-wing extremists seem to be benefiting from popular frustration with the economic situation and high unemployment. Nationalists groups have recently pushed through a constitutional referendum that would ban gay marriage, and are putting forward another referendum that would limit the rights of ethnic minorities to use their own languages in public. The government says such measures are unconstitutional and violate European human rights standards, but it may not be able to stop the rise of the right.
