Croatia and European Consumerism

In its European Agreements with Central and Eastern European countries (Croatia has yet to be included) the EU has spelt-out a commitment towards helping them integrate with the EU. The evolution of these economies from centrally planned to market economies is important to achieving this. A characteristic of the transitional processes of these countries is the emergence of a pan-European consumer culture which can be described, as suggested in this paper, using their TV-commercials. An analysis of TV-commercials for a six-year time span for Croatia and Slovenia with the EU confirms a recognisable convergence of these two countries towards pan-European consumerism. No significant statistical difference between Slovenia and Croatia was found for 1998. Results call for an enhanced EU relationship with Croatia: for the EU to respect its commitment towards 'offering opportunities, not restrictions' and show concern which goes beyond globalisation processes..