Relationship dossier
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia
Relationship assessment
Practical cooperation alongside recurring border, environmental and political disputes
Bosnia and Herzegovina toward Croatia
+20Bosnia and Herzegovina has engaged in practical cross-border cooperation with Croatia, including arrangements concerning access through the Neum corridor during construction of the Pelješac Bridge. It has also raised concerns about the bridge’s potential effect on access to the open sea and about Croatia’s proposed radioactive-waste facility near the border.
Croatia toward Bosnia and Herzegovina
+15Croatia has supported Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European integration and participated in the 1995 Dayton peace settlement. It built the Pelješac Bridge after Bosnia and Herzegovina raised concerns about maritime access, while disputes persist over border delimitation, the proposed radioactive-waste facility near the border, and Croatia’s political engagement concerning Croat representation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Overall relationship
+15The relationship combines sustained practical interaction and Croatian support for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European path with recurring disputes over border delimitation, environmental concerns and political representation. These issues temper cooperation without defining the relationship as substantially adversarial.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia maintain substantial practical ties, with cooperation shaped by Croatia’s support for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European integration and by cross-border infrastructure and economic links. Relations also face recurring disputes over the border, Croatia’s proposed radioactive-waste facility near the border, and political questions involving the representation of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Areas of tension
- Unresolved land and maritime border delimitation
- Bosnia and Herzegovina’s concerns about the proposed radioactive-waste facility near the border
- Disagreement over access to the open sea during planning of the Pelješac Bridge
- Political disagreements concerning Croat representation and Croatia’s role in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Key developments
Croatia participated in the Dayton peace settlement that ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Croatia completed the Pelješac Bridge, following Bosnia and Herzegovina’s concerns about preserving access from Neum to the open sea.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of current bilateral cooperation are unclear.
- The status of efforts to resolve the land and maritime border remains uncertain.
- The future and effects of the proposed radioactive-waste facility near the border are unclear.