The Perception of the European Union Among the Croatian Public

Na stajališta hrvatskih građana o Europskoj uniji te ishod budućeg referenduma o ulasku Republike Hrvatske u tu zajednicu, izravno će utjecati njihova percepcija Europske unije. Istražujući percepciju Europske unije u hrvatskoj javnosti možemo prepoznati sporne točke u odnosu EU-Hrvatska, naslutiti razloge pada potpore hrvatskih građana ulasku Hrvatske u Europsku uniju te ujedno razumjeti mogućnosti promjene te percepcije. Analizirajući odnose između Hrvatske i Europe posljednja dva desetljeća, autor uočava temelje današnje percepcije Europske unije u odnosima Hrvatske i Europe prilikom raspada Jugoslavije 1991. i stvaranja Republike Hrvatske. Današnja percepcija Europske unije, naime, uvjetovana je ne samo konkretnim očekivanjima (koristima i štetama) u aspektima društvenog i gospodarskog života, već i općim dojmovima građana o EU-u te odnosom Europe prema Hrvatskoj. Istraživanje otkriva kako je razina očekivanja, odnosno nada i strahova te stereotipa o Europskoj uniji uvjetovana i nedovoljnom razinom informiranosti građana o različitim aspektima funkcioniranja Europske unije.Attitudes of Croatian citizens towards the European Union and the outcome of the future referendum on the entry of the Republic of Croatia into this Community will be directly infl uenced by their perception of the European Union. By examining the perception of the European Union among the Croatian public, we can identify sticking points in the relationship between the European Union and Croatia, identify the causes of the decline of support of Croatian citizens for the entry of Croatia into the European Union and understand the possibility of changing this perception. Through an analysis of the relations between Croatia and Europe during the last two decades, the author notes the foundations of today’s perception of the European Union in the relations between Croatia and Europe during the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1991 and the creation of the Republic of Croatia. Today’s perception of the European Union is determined not only by specific expectations (benefi ts and detriments) in various aspects of social and economic life, but by general impressions of citizens about the European Union and Europe’s treatment of Croatia. The study reveals that the level of expectations, i.e., of hopes and fears and stereotypes concerning the European Union, is also determined by an insuffi cient level of information of citizens about various aspects of the workings of the European Union