Rajkovchevski, Rade and Pavleski, Aleksandar (2024) Croatia’s Support for Macedonia’s EU Integration: Between Opportunities and Expectations. In: Croatia’s Accession to the Eurozone and Schengen Area: Potential Impact on South East Europe. Proceedings from the 45th Workshop of the PfP Consortium Study Group “Regional Stability in South East Europe” . National Defence Academy, Vienna, Austria, pp. 95-115. ISBN 978-3-903359-86-4
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Abstract
Introduction Relations between Croatia and North Macedonia are mainly positive, which is key to the further development of this cooperation and reflects North Macedonia’s desire to be given continued Croatian support. An atmosphere of bilateral cooperation characterises North Macedonia’s European integration process, as it did the process of accession to NATO. The history of cooperation between the two countries covers a period of slightly more than three decades. It began when both countries gained independence from the former Yugoslavia (1991), continued with the countries joining the Stabilization and Association Process (2000–2001) and the EU and Euro-Atlantic integration process. Croatia made serious steps forward in joining NATO (2009), the EU (2013), and the Schengen Area (2023). North Macedonia, pursuing similar strategic goals, made progress by joining NATO (2020), but has not yet achieved EU membership. The trajectory of North Macedonia’s EU integration process has not only been burdened by disputes with neighbouring countries (Greece and Bulgaria), but also by internal problems (lack of skills in Macedonian diplomacy, numerous corruption scandals involving officials, and developments typical of young democracies) and EU issues related to inconsistent EU enlargement policy and unclear EU priorities. The effectiveness of Croatia’s support for North Macedonia and its commitment to it, in addition to the possibilities of benefiting from Croatia’s experiences in the transformation and EU integration process, are conditioned by two real and separate components. The first involves domestic Macedonian processes and relates to national capacities. These factors may not only affect Croatian support, i.e. the way in which state policy is implemented visà-vis countries supporting North Macedonia in the integration, but also the 95 overall approach of the government in relation to EU requirements regarding aspirant countries, such as fighting corruption, guaranteeing the rule of law, etc. The second component of the analysis is the way Croatia technically and politically supports North Macedonia in the European integration processes. This component depends on and is analysed in the context of Croatia’s national policy regarding bilateral support and assistance to the countries of the Southeast European region and in the context of Croatia’s role in the EU’s approach to enlargement.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | Scientific Fields (Frascati) > Social Sciences > Political science |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Security |
| Depositing User: | Prof. Dr. Rade Rajkovchevski |
| Date Deposited: | 30 Oct 2026 08:45 |
| Last Modified: | 30 Oct 2026 08:45 |
| URI: | https://eprints.uklo.edu.mk/id/eprint/11947 |
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