Country Report: Croatia

Civil society in Croatia was rediscovered in the early 1990s, when civil society organizations (CSOs) were most notably active as humanitarian organizations, with financial and technical support from international or - ganizations. After a period of unfavorable socio-political conditions for civil society development in the 1990s and mutual distrust and conflicts between CSOs and the government, after the early 2000s CSOs started to gain a more prominent role in governance, and a more favorable legislative, tax and institutional framework started to develop. Still, the persisting problem of low levels of trust in civil society and its poor potential for building social capital seem to be a lasting barrier to strengthening Croatian civil society. Recent changes in the legal and tax framework have once again imposed restrictions on civil society and the freedom of asso - ciation ; this has been accompanied by a negative media portrait of civil society, especially in times of crisis. Th e process of EU accession and Croatia’s EU membership since July 2013 resulted in the Europeanization of di ff erent policy processes, including the policy toward civil society. In addition, funding provided by the European Union will gain even greater importance in the near future. Notwithstanding the above-mentioned barriers, CSOs in Croatia have become a relevant actor in service provision over the past 25 years, mostly as a response to growing unmet social needs and as social innovators. Th e role of CSOs in personal service provision is expected to grow further, also opening space for the further development of social entrepreneur - ship. Th is is in line with the expected trend of growing professionalization among CSOs, especially given the available EU funds and the legislative trends toward increasing bureaucratization and professional demands.