A case study on the impact of the EU on gender equality during Croatia’s accession to the EU

Abstract: In the European policy of enlargement, gender equality is one of the focal points. Equality between women and men is commonly one of the core values of European Union member states. The aim of this thesis is to study changes in gender equality in Croatia during its accession period and the role of the European Union in them. This thesis applied two theories, radical feminism and institutionalism. The tools European Union use to affect an accession state are divided into two themes interest and institutions which are analysed by new institutionalism. Radical feminism deepens the analysis by defining the quality of the European Union’s influence on gender equality policy in Croatia. The method that was used to achieve the aim of the thesis and to answer the research questions in a single case study is thematic analysis. The result reveals that European Union has done much work to ensure that Croatia enforced gender equality laws, however they do not embrace all areas, so in general the quality of European Union’s impact over member country can be doubted.