Deputy Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Joško Klisovic 11 April in Brussels signed the Agreement on Croatia’s Accession to the European Economic Area. The agreement is to come into effect once it is ratified by all the member states, but will be temporarily implemented as of 12 April.
The EEA is an international agreement signed in 1993 (came into effect 1 January 1994) in order to create a unique market with unique regulations for the EU member states and three EFTA members (Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein). Croatia will be able to tap into EUR 9.6 million for the implementation of projects as part of the Norwegian financial mechanism. Croatia also signed an additional protocol pertaining to the Norwegian financial mechanism from 2009-2014.
The negotiations began in early 2013, after Croatia had submitted an application to join the EEA in September 2012. After the negotiations had been closed, the agreement was initialled in December 2013.
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