Croatia and 27 EU leaders on Friday (9 December) signed the Balkan country's accession treaty amid fears of an EU break-up and solemn recollections of European wars.
President Ivo Josipovic and outgoing Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor described EU membership as the culmination of Croatia's struggle for independence from Serbia. The war - just 16 years ago - claimed 20,000 lives and coined the phrase "ethnic cleansing."
"It is with love and pride that I remember all those who laid...
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.