The accession process of Croatia to the European Union – implications for future enlargement of the European Union

This article analyzes the possible implications of Croatia’s accession process for further expansion of the Community (officially aspiring to membership in the European Union aspires five countries – Albania, FYROM, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey). In order to carry out the present historical relations between the EU – Croatia, the characteristic way of Croatia’s accession process on each of its stages, the state of its accomplishment by the designated official candidates, assessment of their nature of the relationship with the European Union and possible prospects for future membership.

The Writers of ‘Fionda’: Considerations on Publishing Children’s Literature in Croatia

A small community of Italians lives in Croatia, mainly in the area of Istria and in the city of Rijeka, in a multi-ethnic and multicultural environment of history and tradition. The national Italian community in Croatia has an autochthonous presence and tries to preserve its own national and cultural identity. This is done especially through intense and polyhedral artistic activity, ranging from literature to theatre and music, from painting to sculpture, and from photography to design. In 1952, in order to keep up with the cultural development of this community, the publishing house EDIT (EDizioni ITaliane) was founded. In Croatia and abroad, it publishes and promotes books dedicated to Italian authors from Istria and Rijeka, with a series focused on memoirs; modern and contemporary fiction; poetry; and literature for children and youth. Thus, it supports the literary creativity of the writers living in this area. In order to address childhood, EDIT started a junior series called “La Fionda” in 2005, with the mere intention of pointing out the ludic dimension of books and of rousing the imagination of young readers. This article examines the connection of this series to literature for young readers through the analysis of the works of the authors promoted by “La Fionda,” positioning these authors in the socio-historical environment in which they were working. The series expressly attempted to conduct a linguistic investigation linked to artistic and literary reflections within these publications.

Rights of national minorities in the election law of the Croatian Sabor

The article is devoted to the election law in force in the Republic of Croatia, in particular to the provisions regulating the procedure for electing representatives of national minorities. In Croatia, the electoral system for the Sabor consists of three separate methods of selecting deputies. The first and fundamental one involves the election of 140 deputies in 10 constituencies. In each of the constituencies, 14 representatives are elected on the basis of a proportional system, using the d’Hondt method and the 5% electoral threshold applied to the constituency scale. The second is used in the election of three representatives of the Croatian diaspora. The constituency is the entire world, and the distribution of seats is also made proportionally using the d’Hondt method. The third, used in the election of 8 representatives of national minorities, is the majority system. The article analyzes the method of electing minority representatives and the consequences of applying this election procedure.