COMMON TRADE POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE POSITION OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE

U vrijeme u kojem sile globalizacije oblikuju tržišta povezivanjem podijeljenih nacionalnih tržišta u jedno globalno, trgovinska politika pojedine zemlje ima ulogu jedne od ključnih gospodarskih poluga. Dobrim upravljanjem trgovinskom politikom nacionalna vlada može osigurati prosperitet nacionalnog gospodarstva i obrnuto. U kontekstu trgovinske politike Europska unija ima svoje specifičnosti jer se trgovinska politika ne provodi na razini zemlje članice pojedinačnog. Dogovorom zemalja članica Europske unije provodi se zajednička trgovinske politike na razini cijele Unije. Takvim pristupom trgovinska je politika dobila posebno važnu ulogu u politici Europske unije i procesu donošenja odluka. Sve odluke donesene na razini Europske unije, bilo pozitivne bilo negativne , imaju utjecaj na sudbinu svih zemalja članica. Cilj ovog rada je analizirati uspješnost provođenja zajedničke trgovinske politike u vidu poboljšanja konkurentnosti europskog gospodarstva na svjetskom tržištu te provesti analizu utjecaja zajedničke trgovinske politike na gospodarstvo Republike Hrvatske od pristupanja Europskoj uniji. Poseban dio ovog rada bit će posvećen ispitivanju stavova hrvatske javnosti o učinkovitosti i prednostima zajedničke trgovinske politike, a koje će se provesti anketiranjem ispitanika.In times when forces of globalization are shaping national markets by connecting once separate national markets into a common global one, a country’s trade policy becomes a key economic lever. With good trade policy management, a national government can ensure the prosperity of the national economy just as bad management can do the opposite. In the context of trade policy, the European Union is specific because its trade policy is not implemented at the level of an individual member state. As it has been agreed between all the member states of the European Union, common trade policy is implemented at the level of the entire Union. Due to this, trade policy has been given a particularly important role in the overall European Union policy and the decision-making process. Every decision made at the level of the European Union will affect all member states and will determine their economic future, be it positively or negatively. This paper aims to analyze the success of the common trade policy in improving the competitiveness of the European economy in the world market. The impact of the common trade policy on the economy of the Republic of Croatia since it became a member state of the EU will be analyzed as well. One whole part of this paper will be dedicated to examining the attitudes of the Croatian public on the effectiveness and benefits of the common trade policy, which will be done by surveying respondents