Following the Croatian Parliament’s decision of 25 June 1991 to declare Croatia’s independence and that of 8 October 1991 to cut all remaining ties with Yugoslavia, on this day 28 years ago Croatia became an internationally recognized country, joining the ranks of the free nations of the world. The recognition came during wartime, after Croatia’s army and police forces had defended most of its national territory against the Greater-Serbian aggression.
On 15 January 1992, Croatia was recognized by all 12 member states of then-European Community, as well as Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Hungary, Malta, Norway, Poland and Switzerland, following recognitions by Slovenia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Latvia, Iceland, Estonia, the Holy See and San Marino. By the end of January 1992, Croatia was recognized by 44 countries, and that number continued to grow in the following months. Croatia’s status as a sovereign and independent country was underscored in 1992 with membership of a number of international organizations, from the OSCE (then CSCE) to the UN. Since then, Croatia has become a member of 30-odd international organizations.
During the past 28 years, Croatia has fought for international recognition and UN membership, won the Homeland War and integrated itself into the political, security and economic structures of the West. In international relations, it additionally positioned itself as a member of the EU and NATO, as well as a partner in numerous other global and regional organizations, initiatives and processes. This year, just six and a half years after joining the EU, Croatia assumed its first Council of the EU presidency, which is a great honour and responsibility.
On this day, Croatia is also observing the 22nd anniversary of the peaceful reintegration of its Danube region, one of the biggest legacies of then-president Franjo Tuđman and the most successful UN peacekeeping mission, now a blueprint for resolving similar crises around the world.