How are Croats destroying the unity of EU: They can't live and work in Britain, so they are using Brexit to "push through" their workers

Croatia is using the negotiations of Great Britain about leaving the European Union to try to open the British market for its workers, writes Brussels' portal Politico.

NEWEST RESEARCH: Here's how many citizens of Serbia support joining the European Union (GRAPHICS)

Recommended

Official Zabgreb, as stated, asked the head negotiator of EU for Brexit to enable Croats to live and work through negotiations in Britain from July next year, and to get benefits the citizens of EU state members will have when Britain leaves that block, which would suppose to happen in 2019.

- Unlike the citizens of the remaining 26 EU countries, Croats do not have the automatic right to live and work in Britain, due to the temporary restrictions imposed after Croatia joined the EU in 2013. They are in force until June 30, 2018, and London could extend it in two more years - says Politico.

If that happens, the Croats could not benefit from British Prime Minister Theresa May's offer of "solved citizenship status", after Brexit, estimates this portal.

- Citizens' rights are very important for Croatia, as well as a specific position in relation to the freedom of movement of workers - said adviser to Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Maja Bogdan.

This topic was also on the agenda last autumn when EU's chief negotiator in the case of Brexit, Michel Barnier, visited Zagreb, but the issue reached a dramatic level in consultations later.

- The Croatian demarche, so far limited to diplomatic talks behind closed doors, is an early signal that the specific demands of individual member states are coming to the surface during early negotiations and complicate everything else. This suggests that the required cohesion in the EU will maybe not last  - says Politico.

- On paper, Croatia can not block an agreement with Britain, because a qualified majority of the member states is needed to reach the final agreement and not a consensus. For now, Zagreb does not threaten Brussels, but a disagreement in the EU carries a political issue and could give London a chance to bring back new demands - the Brussels' portal estimates.

(Telegraf.co.uk / Tanjug)