After 10 years of negotiations, on July 1, 2013, Croatia became the 28th member state of the European Union. 10 years later, Croatia celebrates its first decade of membership in the European Union in the atmosphere of its recent entry into the euro area and the Schengen area.

With the entry of the Republic of Croatia into this economic and political union, and the passage of the first 10 years of membership, it can be concluded that Croatia had multiple benefits. As a member of the European Union, we have become part of the single market, and economic growth and the raising of the standards of Croatian citizens have been ensured. Membership enabled us to access all EU funds and financial support for the development of various regional development projects, infrastructure projects, education, agriculture, research, etc.

This year, the Republic of Croatia entered Schengen and the Eurozone, which marks the end of the first 10 years of Croatia's membership in the European Union, and expresses satisfaction because with the possibility of using the 25 billion euros available in this financial period, solid foundations have been laid for the continued growth of the economy and development of the Republic. of Croatia for the benefit of its citizens.

It is also important to highlight the achievements of the Slavonija, Baranja and Srijem Project.

Speaking of the direct support of the five Slavonian counties, over 20 billion kunas have been contracted so far for projects aimed at people staying in Slavonia, helping economic development, employment and so on.

Substantial funds were invested in restructuring, modernization, increasing the competitiveness of agricultural holdings, improving life in rural areas, and from 2016 to today, support in the amount of more than HRK 7 billion has been approved, while HRK six billion has been paid out.

When it comes to social policy, significant funds have been invested in the five Slavonian counties to improve social services and care for the most vulnerable groups of society, especially children and the elderly. 1,100 projects worth HRK 2.5 billion were contracted through the Effective Human Resources program.48 projects worth HRK 392 million have been contracted for the development of health infrastructure since the beginning of the implementation of the Slavonija  Project - examples are the General Hospital in Virovitica, the day hospital and day surgery at KBC Osijek, the day hospital and day surgery at the Memorial Hospital in Vukovar. Regarding traffic connectivity, which is crucial for the Croatian economy and quality of life, the 25-kilometer section of corridor Vc between Osijek and Beli Manastir is open. There are still 5 kilometers to the Hungarian border, which means that Croatia will have the full profile of the highway through Slavonia and ultimately connect Budapest and Ploče.The implementation of key projects continues - such as the Farkaševac-Bjelovar-Virovitica expressway, then the highway to Požega and the Srijem border transversal, and the road from Križevci to Koprivnica. In this way, in terms of transport, huge strides will be made for Croatia and practically by 2030, the issue of transport connectivity will be solved as one of the key preconditions for balanced regional development