Angry and devastated locals in Croatia are said to be turning to nationalism and to politicians who promise to put Croatia first as they lash out at the European Union and the euro for destroying their towns.
In a new BBC series, “The Balkans: Europe’s Forgotten Frontier”, Katya Adler travelled to Croatia, where she met with locals who shared their stories of heartbreak since it joined the EU and became a booming tourist country.
The country has changed dramatically since the brutal independence wars in the 1990s, but there are still regions that few of the 21.3 million visitors to Croatia last year see, and are struggling to survive.
“Welcome to the ghost city,” said Daniel Pavlic, who lives in the small inland town of Kostajnica, where a many residents have left for the EU in search of work.
“As we say in Croatia, they went to seek their fortune.”
Just a few decades ago, Croatia was part of Yugoslavia, held together by the Communist dictator Josip Broz Tito. When he died, ethnic and political tensions sparked brutal wars of independence throughout the 1990s. Today, the country is now seven separate countries, including Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro.
Before the war, about 3,500 people lived in Kostajnica, according to Daniel, but now only about 700 remain. Walking through the streets, visitors are now met with boarded-up houses.
Daniel explained that many villages around the area are now completely empty, a situation that is reflected across much of Croatia. In fact, as many Croatians now live outside their country as in it.
He said: “It’s so, so sad.”
The EU has made it easier for people to find work in other, richer member states, meaning there is little incentive for residents in towns like Kostajnica to stay.
Daniel added: “The best business here is the funeral home. It’s the most profitable business here. Fewer people are being born, and more are dying.”
Since Croatia lost its currency and adopted the euro, “everything has become much more expensive,” according to Daniel. He continued: “I need to earn three salaries just to take my family to the seaside.
“The EU got more from Croatia than we got from the EU. As people say, we sold ourselves for a fistful of dollars.”
Daniel’s 14-year-old daughter, Dalia, has already decided she does not want to stay in Croatia.
She said: “No, God forbid. Honestly, I don’t see a future here. It wouldn’t make any sense to live here.” She said many others from her school feel the same way.
“I’m sad because I think they deserve a better life than me,” added Daniel, bursting into tears.
As more Croatian residents turn to nationalism, hard-right nationalists joined the government in 2024, a trend that is spreading across Europe, particularly the Balkans, and could very well put Western unity at risk.