The Republic of Croatiais situated in South-Eastern Europe at the crossroads of the Adriatic Sea and the Pannonian Plain.

Historical heritage, natural beauty and a pleasant climate make up the framework which, together with high quality accommodation, gastronomic excellence and a rich supply of activities and entertainment, enables Croatia to attract tourists.

Croatia is classified as an emerging and developing economy by the International Monetary Fund and a high income economy by the World Bank. Traditionally, Croatia is a tourism oriented country.

Zagreb is the capital of Croatia and also the largest city in the country. It is situated in the north-west of the country, along the Sava River, with a population of almost one million inhabitants. It is the political, economic, cultural and scientific centre of Croatia.

Croatia became the 28th member of the European Union at midnight 1 of July 2013, a decade after it started the process and less than 20 years after the end of its war of independence from Yugoslavia.

Seaside escapes There are more than 1,000 islands and islets in Croatia, and only 50 are inhabited. The country has more than 3,500 miles of coastline – though it is broken north of Dubrovnik by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 15-mile stretch, the shortest coastline in the world.

Dionysian offerings Wine has been made in Croatia since it was introduced by Greek settlers 2,500 years ago – original vineyards are still intact on Stari Grad Plain on Hvar island. Today, Croatia has more than 300 wine regions, 17,000 producers and 2,500 (mostly white) wines.

A sovereign port From 1358 until its capture by Napoleon in 1808, the walled city of Dubrovnik was the centre of a city-state known as the Republic of Ragusa. Despite its small size, it was a trading power and became a centre of learning and culture during the Renaissance.

We had the honour and pleasure to speak with His Excellency Gordan Markotić, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to the Republic of Serbia.

1. Mr. Markotić, how do you feel in Belgrade, the city where you were born?

I feel very good in Belgrade, I was born in this city and I lived and went to school in the very center of the city from the first to the fifth grade of elementary school. So I remember Belgrade from a child perspective, I perceived everything as much bigger than it really is – the buildings, the houses, the streets. When I went for a stroll in the area I grew up in, my childhood came back to me, my friends... everything.

That was the only part of the city I got to know in the past. In the past five months I’ve been living in Belgrade I’ve also gotten to know the other parts of the city.

2. Is it a coincidence that you got Belgrade for your term as Ambassador?

Yes, a complete coincidence!

When I found out I was going to be the Ambassador to Belgrade, I recalled Shakespeare who said that man lives the second part of his life the same way as the first. I left Belgrade when I was a child and now in my older years I’ve come back to work here, and I’m discovering a completely new Belgrade for me.

3. You grew up and went to school in Zagreb, how did your career progress before you became the Croatian Ambassador to Serbia?

In addition to elementary school and grammar school, I also graduated in politics from the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, and I first worked in the Zagreb Customs Office until 1995. Diplomacy had always been attractive to me, and in '95 I managed to move to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

Customs remained in my heart because I was on the team that formed the Customs Administration of the Republic of Croatia, and from the beginning I was the one on that team who was responsible for international cooperation.

Since I’ve moved to the MFA, I’ve had two terms abroad and both times in the same city, Geneva. I went there for the first time in 1996 and was in charge of Croatia’s admission to the World Trade Organization. At the end of my mandate in 2000 we entered the World Trade Organization.

Then, on returning to Zagreb, I worked in economic diplomacy and was the National Coordinator for the Stability Pact, which meant I often travelled in the region.

I went back to Geneva in 2003, but this time as the Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia, and I intensively worked on human rights issues within the United Nations, as well as disarmament and global trade negotiations within the framework of the World Trade Organization. I returned to Zagreb in 2007 and over the next six years, before I came to Belgrade, I was first the Head of the Office for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal. Following the latest elections in Croatia, I became Assistant Justice Minister for the European Union and international cooperation.

And here I am today in Belgrade.

4. Mid last year Croatia became a member of the EU. What, in your opinion, has really changed in the life of every Croat between then and now? And what has changed in Croatia as a country?

The main gain of entering the EU is not something which can be changed in one day. We negotiated our EU membership for almost six years and during that time we implemented a number of reforms and they were, in actual fact, the changes which the EU brought.

The negotiations process is what is most important because you harmonize your entire system with the EU system during that process.

Maybe people are not aware how many changes took place during those six years, because they were slow and gradual.

5. Croatia went down a long and complicated road to join the EU. What experiences did Croatia gain on that journey which can be of use to Serbia? Are you and how are you helping our country in its preparations for EU membership?

Croatia gave Serbia the translation of the entire acquis communautaire, which was a necessity. Our experts are present in many ministries in Serbia today.

Serbia and Croatia have a shared legal heritage from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a tradition of legal education, legal logic, a similar legal approach to problems, we have no language barriers and our people are still “fresh” from those negotiations. They have a lot of experience and we are conveying all this to our colleagues in Serbia.

6. Do you think that Croatia’s assistance to Serbia on the country’s path towards the EU will in some way shorten the journey? Will we too negotiate for the next six years?

You never know. We had several unresolved international issues which meant we were unable to move further on in the talks until we solved them, which slowed us down quite a bit.

During the negotiations process we used the experiences of Slovenia, Austria and Slovakia, who faced similar problems we had when they were joining the EU. The help was really invaluable.

Very important thing is that Croatia will not open a single bilateral problem with Serbia during the talks which could slow down Serbia’s journey towards the EU.

7. Serbia and Croatia were signatories of the CEFTA trade agreement. When Croatia entered the EU some things changed. What happened?

When a CEFTA member country enters the EU, it has the right to retain some of the CEFTA trade benefits for a certain transitional period. We have asked for an extension of traditional trade in tobacco products. This means the setting of a quota for the import of tobacco products from the EU, and this also means Croatia, to which a lower customs rate than the regular one in Serbia will apply. This privilege will only be used one time and only for a certain amount of tobacco products. In this case, the European Commission negotiates on behalf of Croatia because we are now part of the EU market.

8. What were the largest obstacle and the biggest challenge for Croatia in the process of harmonization with EU laws? How did your country overcome them?

The most difficult was actually Chapter 23, the judiciary and fundamental rights, the establishment of the rule of law, the fight against corruption and judicial reform. These are, more or less, also problems in more developed countries.

The fight against corruption in Croatia lasted a couple of years and we had very good results. Even the former Croatian Prime Minister was convicted, as were the Deputy Prime Minister and several other ministers. It really started at the top and we wanted to show that corruption does not pay off.

A clear message was sent to everyone that if those at the top level of government are prosecuted, so everyone else involved in corrupt practices will be prosecuted too.

9. Do you think that Chapter 23 is currently the biggest obstacle for Serbia?

I am sure that it will be a huge obstacle, but it is good that Serbia will begin its negotiations with Chapters 23 and 24. They are very complex chapters; they are not just measures which change legislation, they are changes in the fundamental rights of different minorities, among others including women and children.

Besides the legislative framework, it is very important to also change practice.

Judicial reform is a special issue in this chapter because it needs to have a lot of attention devoted to it.

10. What has changed in the economic cooperation between our two countries between the July 1 last year and now?

Foreign trade between our two countries during the economic crisis, despite the crisis being large, did not fall drastically. But there is room to improve our relations. The arrival of Serbian products or investment companies in Croatia is now really their arrival on the EU market, and they are most welcomed.

Croatia is currently richer than Serbia according to some parameters, so it is logical that the richer country invests more in the less rich country.

We are trying to attract investors from Serbia, and not only in the tourism sector, but to invest also in industry and manufacturing. Among others, there is the possibility of investing in the food industry or the IT industry.

This cross-border cooperation is especially important to us, and it could be more intensive because EU funds can be used to widen cross-border cooperation.

The EU assists us with appropriate funds so people who live and work along the border can profit. We also advocate Serbia and Croatia entering third markets jointly.

12. The tourism fair was held in Belgrade this February and Croatia was one of the participants. How would you evaluate this event? How was your country presented?

Serbs traditionally come to Croatia on holiday and nothing will change in particular from previous years. Visas are not required, people are free to travel. Many people from Serbia make use of private accommodation. Yachting tourism is also very developed.

We would be very glad if as many people as possible came to our coast this year too.

What is interesting about this fair is the fact that several territorial units had independent appearances, such as the island of Vir and Istria County.

And there weren’t just offers for the summer season, there were also interesting packages for some places inland in the country.

There was also a wine fair here. The wine industry on both sides is very developed and this industrial branch has huge potential for mutual cooperation.

Croatian tourists are the second most numerous visitors to Belgrade, immediately behind the Slovenes, and are so-called weekend tourists.

13. The First Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia Vesna Pusić made an official visit to Belgrade on Monday, February 24. What was the goal of her visit? Who did she meet in Serbia and what did they speak about?

The Minister met with First Deputy Prime Minister Vučić and Foreign Minister Mrkić in Belgrade and what was concluded from these meetings is that we need leave the past to the court to decide, to let the historians deal with the past, and that for us it’s important to dedicate ourselves to the present and the future.

It’s not easy to do that in our region, because people often bring up the past. It seems that it’s much easier to do that than to come up with a good program for making progress in the present day and in the future.

We must choose to go down the difficult road, because cooperation between our two countries must continue and improve and because we both have a shared European future.

14. Have the Balkan divisions, unfortunately, even after such a long time left some open, unresolved issues between our two countries? Which of those issues are the biggest, the most difficult, and how will we solve them?

We do have some unresolved issues between us, and one of the most important for us is the problem of missing persons. This is not so much a political issue as it is a humanitarian issue. When the families of missing persons are able to find out the fate of their loved ones, then political tensions will also decrease.

Dissatisfied people are more susceptible to various political influences, as opposed to those who have all their issues resolved.

We also have the problem of the borders on the Danube, but I am sure this will be solved soon. We also have issues surrounding transport, Corridor 10; here we must do something to modernize the railway line from Zagreb to Belgrade.

Today there are EU funds for such cross-border projects which must be used, because, among other things, this Corridor is the shortest route between Western Europe and the East, both for people and freight. It is least expensive to transport goods by train.

We must improve the position of national minorities on both sides. The problems of refugees are being resolved slowly. By the end of the year, the Croatian Government will secure another number of apartments for refugees.

As you can see, things are being resolved. Perhaps not at the tempo the public on both sides expects, but it is important that the changes are continual.

15. In 2010 I spoke with Mr. Kuprešak, the previous Croatian Ambassador to Serbia, and he told me that he was trying to build a better future, not a better past, between Croatia and Serbia. What is your mission in Serbia?

My most important mission is for there to be as few of the open issues we have discussed today as possible by the end of my term. As well as for Serbia to approach the end of its EU accession talks, because regional stability is not possible without a shared European perspective.

16. When you leave Belgrade, what will you take away with you?

I’m sure I will take positive impressions of my life in Belgrade away with me. But the most important thing is that I will surely take away a large address book with the names of my new friends, who I am meeting everyday here in Serbia.