Survey: Bosnian Croats Would Try Their Luck in EU

Almost 70,000 Bosnian Croats who hold the Croatian passport are likely to leave Bosnia to look for work in the EU once Croatia becomes the union member, says a survey.The NGO “Croatia Libertas” in Bosnia and Herzegovina has conducted a survey asking its Bosnian Croat citizens: “Will you look for a job in the EU when Croatia joins the EU”. A huge 98 per cent of 4,000 respondents said they would.

The results of the survey suggest that every unemployed able boded Bosnian Croat of working age and in possession of the Croatian passport would leave Bosnia to try their luck in some EU country.It is believed that there are about 600,000 Croats in Bosnia.

The Croatian daily newspaper Vecernji List writes that if the survey is accurate then the number of the Croats in Bosnia would be halved when Croatia enters the European Union.

According to Vecernji List that would have adverse effect on the position of the Croats in the country as 50 per cent of those who might have voted for Croatian parties would be abroad.

Croatia is supposed to become the 28th EU member state in mid 2013.

Croatia started accession negotiations in October 2005. They have been the longest negotiations of any of the 12 EU member states that have joined since 2000.

In Bosnia, European Commissioner for Enlargement handed over in June a ‘road map’ containing a list of obligations and deadlines to Bosnian leaders.