Zagreb - Today marks 33 years since Croatia became an internationally recognised state on 15 January 1992, and 27 years since the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube Region into the country's constitutional and legal order, completed on the same date in 1998.
Croatia's international recognition on 15 January 1992 was a pivotal moment securing its status as a sovereign state. On that day, all 12 member states of the then-European Community recognised Croatia. Germany, alongside the Vatican, played a key role in the recognition process and subsequently established diplomatic relations with Croatia.
On the same day, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Hungary, Malta, Norway, Poland, and Switzerland also recognised Croatia. Earlier, recognition came from Slovenia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Latvia, Iceland, Estonia, the Holy See, and San Marino. By the end of January 1992, 44 states had recognised Croatia, with the number continuing to grow in the following months.
This recognition followed Croatia's declaration of independence on 25 June 1991, when Slovenia, too, declared its independence. Lithuania was the first country to recognise Croatia on 30 July 1991, although it was not yet internationally recognised itself. Iceland was the first internationally recognised state to acknowledge Croatia's independence on 19 December 1991, and the same day Germany announced that its recognition would become effective 15 January 1992, in coordination with other EU members.
The Vatican announced its recognition on 20 December 1991, formalising it on 13 January 1992. Vatican diplomacy led efforts to gain international support for Croatia's independence, with historians often emphasising the roles of the Vatican and Iceland as critical in securing recognition.
At the time of international recognition, Croatia was in the midst of the Homeland War, with nearly a third of its territory under occupation by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and Serbian paramilitaries. Croatia would regain its recognised borders only in 1998 through the peaceful reintegration of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja, and Western Srijem.
Recognition enabled Croatia to join numerous international organisations during 1992, solidifying its sovereignty. Key milestones included admission to the United Nations on 22 May 1992, accession to NATO in 2009, and the European Union in 2013, bolstering its international position and fostering economic and political development.
Peaceful reintegration of Croatian Danube Region
On 15 January 1998, the peaceful reintegration of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja, and Western Srijem was completed, bringing the last occupied part of Croatia's territory back under the country's constitutional and legal order. This process was grounded in the Erdut Agreement signed on 12 November 1995, initiating a two-year UN Transitional Administration (UNTAES) mandate.
Under the leadership of transitional administrator Jacques Paul Klein, the reintegration involved the withdrawal of Serbian paramilitary forces, the establishment of a transitional police force, and the return of displaced persons.
In September and October 1996, the remains of 200 victims, Croatian defenders and civilians taken by the JNA and Serb paramilitaries from the Vukovar Hospital after the fall of the city and executed at Ovčara, were exhumed from a mass grave on that former farm near Vukovar. On All Saints' Day that year, thousands of displaced Croatians visited cemeteries in the Croatian Danube region for the first time since 1991 under UNTAES supervision.
Economic reintegration followed in 1997 with the return of INA-operated oil fields in Đeletovci and the restoration of legal authority through local elections in April of that year. The introduction of the Croatian kuna as the official currency on 19 May 1997 further integrated the region into Croatia's legal and economic systems.
Efforts to facilitate the return of displaced persons included the establishment of six offices for refugees and the founding of the National Trust Building Committee in October 1997, chaired by Vesna Škare-Ožbolt, deputy chief of the President’s Office.
President Franjo Tuđman’s role and legacy
President Franjo Tuđman played a central role in the reintegration efforts, visiting the Croatian Danube Region multiple times. On 8 June 1997, he travelled to Vukovar aboard the "Train of Peace", symbolising national unity and the region's recovery. Tuđman hailed the peaceful reintegration as the culmination of Croatia's struggle for independence and territorial integrity.
The UN Security Council endorsed the conclusion of the UNTAES mandate on 19 December 1997. The reintegration was formally celebrated on 15 January 1998, with ceremonies in Borovo Naselje and Zagreb.
Special envoy Bernard Miyet praised the successful mission, while transitional administrator William Walker highlighted the achievement of peace and acceptance of Croatian authority in the region.
President Tuđman declared: "The handover of the Croatian Danube River Region to state authorities marks the end of the aggression against Croatia and the occupation of its territory. With this, the Croatian nation confirms its victory in the imposed war."
The reintegration, preceded by military operations "Flash" and "Storm" in 1995, was instrumental in restoring peace and unity to the Croatian state.