Still talking after five years – Croatia's long and winding road to the EU

When Croatia was nominated an official EU candidate in 2004, it was widely considered to be so far advanced and well prepared that it seemed capable of rapidly concluding accession talks and becoming an EU member. In several sectors, the Croatians were already doing better than some of the eastern European countries that joined the club in May 2004. Reality has defied those optimistic predictions, however. Membership talks are still continuing after running a record five years.

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