Zagreb, 1st July – Sunday night was celebration time for Croatia, with its historic entry into the European Union as its 28th member as of 1st July.

After seven years of difficult reforms, Croatia, independent since 1991, celebrated its entry at an official ceremony, when the Ode to Joy by Beethoven, the EU’s Anthem, was sung. At the event, the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, and Croatian President Ivo Josipovic spoke on the central square in Zagreb, in the presence of the presidents of the Balkan countries and thousands of Croats attending the party animated by 700 artists, singers, musicians and dancers.

The international media have devoted many articles to Croatia, the first state to join the EU since Romania and Bulgaria became members in 2007, pointing out how the country, in recession since 2009 and with its unemployment rate at 21%, hopes to restart its economy.
With the entry of Croatia, the EU now counts 508 million inhabitants and 24 languages, but Croatia will retain its national currency, the kuna, as it will only join the euro zone in 2018/2020.
The Croatian Olympic Committee and EOC EU Office recently organised a conference on “The EU and State Aid “, the aim of which was to inform Croatian sport on the EU’s rules and regulations on this subject. For this purpose, NOC President Zlatko Matesa invited EOC EU Office Director Folker Hellmund, who explained the role of his Office, gave an overview of EU policy on competition and state aid for sport, and explained how EU rules and regulations impact the sports sector.

Today, 1st July, Lithuania takes over the European Union presidency semester.