Relationship dossier
Croatia
France
Relationship assessment
EU and NATO partners with a strategic partnership and significant defense cooperation.
Croatia toward France
+35Croatia has pursued strategic and defense cooperation with France, including a 2021 strategic partnership and the purchase of French Rafale aircraft. Croatia also supports cooperation with France through shared EU and NATO commitments.
France toward Croatia
+35France supported Croatia’s EU accession and has backed its integration into the euro area and Schengen zone. The 2021 strategic partnership and the Rafale sale provide concrete frameworks for French political and defense engagement with Croatia.
Overall relationship
+40The relationship rests on Croatia’s EU and NATO membership, French support for Croatian integration, and a bilateral strategic partnership reinforced by a major arms procurement. These durable cooperative features outweigh any notable bilateral friction, although the breadth of implementation is uncertain.
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
Croatia and France cooperate as EU and NATO members, with bilateral ties strengthened by France’s support for Croatia’s accession to the European Union and its entry into the euro area and Schengen zone. A 2021 strategic partnership and Croatia’s purchase of French Rafale aircraft added substantial defense and political cooperation. Their relationship is broadly constructive, though its practical depth and implementation across sectors are not fully captured by these major arrangements.
Key developments
France and Croatia established a strategic partnership, broadening bilateral cooperation.
Croatia selected French Rafale fighter aircraft in a major defense procurement.
Croatia adopted the euro and joined the Schengen area, deepening its integration in the EU framework supported by France.
Major uncertainties
- The implementation and breadth of the 2021 strategic partnership are unclear.
- The scope of ongoing defense-industrial cooperation beyond the Rafale acquisition is uncertain.