Split, Croatia
Croatia has been a candidate country for EU membership since June 2004. In October 2001 it became the second country to sign a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU following the breakdown of the former Yugoslavia, although the agreement did not enter into force until February 2005.
Accession negotiations were launched in 2005 and a new Accession Partnership was signed in 2008, laying out in detail the principles and priorities for the country’s accession preparations.