The foreign relations between Croatia and Hungary are bound together by shared history, political development and geography. The two states established diplomatic relations on 18 January 1992 following the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the independence of Croatia.
In 1102, the previously independent Kingdom of Croatia and Kingdom of Hungary entered personal union and the two were henceforth ruled by the same monarch. Following the Ottoman conquests and a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Mohács in 1526, Croatian nobility elected the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I as the new king of Croatia. The Hungarian nobility was divided, but the Habsburgs annexed the Kingdom of Hungary, keeping Croatia and Hungary under a single crown. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, Croatia sided with the Austrians, so the Croatian Ban Josip Jelačić helped Austria to defeat the Hungarian forces in 1849, ushering in a period of Germanisation. By the 1860s, the failure of this policy became apparent, leading to the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 and the creation of a personal union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. The issue of Croatia's status was resolved by the Croatian–Hungarian Settlement of 1868, when the kingdoms of Croatia and Slavonia were united into the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Following the breakup of Austria-Hungary after its defeat in World War I, the Croatian Parliament declared independence on 29 October 1918 and decided to join the newly formed State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, ending Habsburg rule and the personal union with Hungary after 816 years. Through the Treaty of Trianon, Hungary lost Međimurje County and the southern part of Baranya to Croatia. With Croatia forming part of Yugoslavia after both World Wars, relations between the two states in the interwar period and Cold War have been defined by relations between Hungary and Yugoslavia. Both Croatia and Hungary collaborated with the Axis powers in World War II and came under post-war communist party rule. Following the revolutions of 1989 and breakup of Yugoslavia, Hungary recognised Croatian independence with the rest of the European Economic Community in 1992, and supported Croatia during the Croatian War of Independence.
Croatian and Hungarian high-ranking officials usually meet several times a year. Trade between Croatia and Hungary amounted $1.020 bln in 2012, largely consisting of Hungarian exports to Croatia. Hungarian tourists contribute significantly to Croatian tourism; in 2009, a total of 323,000 visited Croatia, including the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán who has spent his summer holidays in Dalmatia for last few decades. Both countries coordinate the development of cross-border infrastructure. Pan-European corridors Vb and Vc connect Budapest to the Adriatic Sea via Zagreb and Osijek. Both countries have sizable minorities living across their common border, and both have passed laws to protect their minority rights.
Croatia and Hungary are parties to 96 bilateral treaties and members of a number of multinational organizations, including NATO and the European Union, and the Southeast European Cooperation Initiative. Croatia has an embassy in Budapest a general consulate in Pécs and a consulate in Nagykanizsa, while Hungary has an embassy in Zagreb, a general consulate in Osijek and honorary consulates in Rijeka, Split, and Dubrovnik.
Present
Diplomatic relations
Croatia and Hungary established diplomatic relations on 16 and 18 January 1992, after Hungary recognised the independence of Croatia on 15 January 1992. As of December 2011, Croatia maintains an embassy in Budapest (headed by ambassador Ivan Bandić), a consulate general in Pécs and a consulate in Nagykanizsa. The Nagykanizsa consulate is led by an honorary consul. Hungary maintains an embassy in Zagreb and consulates in Rijeka and Split. The embassy is headed by ambassador Gábor Iván; the offices also include an army and air attaché office in the Republic of Croatia (headed by László Hajas) and the Office for Economic Affairs of the Embassy of the Republic of Hungary in the Republic of Croatia (headed by András Péter Závoczky, Counselor for Economy and Trade).
+Croatian diplomatic missions to Hungary Location Type Head Budapest embassy Mladen Andrlić Pécs consulate Drago Horvat Nagykanizsa consulate Atila Kos +Hungarian diplomatic missions to Croatia Location Type Head Zagreb embassy Csaba Demcsá Rijeka consulate Zoran VukićOsijekconsulateJános Magdó Split consulate Ivo Staničić
High level visits Croatian and Hungarian high-ranking officials (including heads of state, prime ministers and foreign ministers) meet several times a year. In addition, Croatian and Hungarian governments have occasionally held joint sessions since January 2006.
+High-level visits and meetings (since 2009) Date Location Note 19 June 2012 Budapest Speakers of the Croatian Parliament and the National Assembly of Hungary Boris Šprem and László Kövér meet 7 May 2012 Budapest Croatian prime minister Zoran Milanović meets Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán 24 February 2012 Budapest Croatian foreign and European affairs minister Vesna Pusić and János Martonyi (Hungarian foreign minister) meet 7 December 2011 Olgamajor Speakers of the Croatian Parliament and the National Assembly of Hungary Luka Bebić and László Kövér meet29–30 September 2011 Budapest President of Croatia Ivo Josipović visits Budapest and meets Hungarian president Pál Schmitt 8 February 2011 Zagreb Croatian prime minister Jadranka Kosor meets Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán 24 January 2011 Budapest Croatian justice minister Dražen Bošnjaković meets Hungarian Administration and Justice minister Tibor Navracsics23 December 2010 Zagreb Croatian prime minister Jadranka Kosor meets Hungarian deputy prime minister Tibor Navracsics 28 October 2010 Budapest Gordan Jandroković (Croatian foreign minister) and János Martonyi (Hungarian foreign minister) meet 1 October 2010 Zagreb Hungarian president Pál Schmitt meets Croatian president Ivo Josipović and Croatian prime minister Jadranka Kosor, and visits Osijek and Varaždin10 September 2010 Zagreb Croatian prime minister Jadranka Kosor and Hungarian deputy prime minister Tibor Navracsics attend the Consequences of EU Membership for the Judiciary conference 22 July 2010 Budapest Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán meets Croatian prime minister Jadranka Kosor 13 July 2010 Zagreb Croatian prime minister Jadranka Kosor and Gordan Jandroković (Croatian foreign minister) meet Pál Schmitt, Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary and President-elect of Hungary at the time 9 July 2010 Dubrovnik The 5th Croatia Summit is held, attended by Croatian president Ivo Josipović, Croatian prime minister Jadranka Kosor and Hungarian foreign minister János Martonyi 16 April 2010 Pécs Trilateral meeting of Croatian, Hungarian and Serbian presidents: Ivo Josipović, László Sólyom and Boris Tadić 16 March 2010 Budapest Visit of Croatian president Ivo Josipović 18 January 2010 Zagreb Visit of Hungarian prime minister Gordon Bajnai 21 November 2009 Barcs Presidents of Croatia and Hungary (Stjepan Mesić and László Sólyom) meet on the occasion of Croatian Day in Hungary 5 November 2009 Budapest Presidents Stjepan Mesić and László Sólyom meet at the World Scientific Forum 17 September 2009 Barcs Prime ministers Jadranka Kosor and Gordon Bajnai co-chair a joint session of the Government of Croatia and the Government of Hungary 9 September 2009 Zagreb Foreign ministers Gordan Jandroković and Péter Balázs meet to prepare a joint session of the Croatian and Hungarian governments9–10 July 2009 Dubrovnik Prime ministers Jadranka Kosor and Gordon Bajnai meet at the Croatia Summit 2009 27 April 2009 Luxembourg Foreign ministers Gordan Jandroković and Péter Balázs meet during the fifth EU-Croatia Stabilisation and Accession Council 13 March 2009 Zagreb Hungarian foreign minister Kinga Göncz visits Croatian foreign minister Gordan Jandroković and meets with prime minister Ivo Sanader and president Stjepan Mesić
Economy and infrastructure
Trade between Croatia and Hungary amounted to €625,083 in 2009, a decrease from €894,270 in 2008. In 2009 Croatian exports to Hungary reached €132,474, while Hungarian exports to Croatia were worth €492,609. Overall, the 2009 trade volume represented 2.75 percent of total Croatian foreign trade. Croatian–Hungarian trade comprises only a small fraction of total Hungarian foreign trade, reaching 0.54 percent of the total in 2009. Hungarian investments in Croatia rose sharply in 2003, reaching the fourth ranking in that year following investments exceeding US$630 million, largely in tourism and manufacturing. The largest single investment that year was the purchase of more than 25 percent of the stock of INA for US$500 million by the MOL Group. By 2011, the MOL Group increased its stake in INA to 47.16 percent.
Hungarian tourists contribute significantly to the Croatian tourist industry; in 2009, a total of 323,000 Hungarians visited Croatia as tourists. A total of 1.644 million overnight stays were made by Hungarian tourists in that year alone, ranking Hungarian tourists seventh in the number of nights spent in Croatia (behind the Germans, Slovenes, Italians, Austrians, Czechs and Dutch). At the same time, the Hungarian tourists spent more than 143 million kuna ( €19 million) in Croatia, representing a sharp increase from 69.5 million kuna ( €9.3 million) spent in 2008. In 2009, 103,000 Croatians visited Hungary (excluding family and friend visits) in 356,000 overnight stays, spending 204,000 kuna ( €27,000). This spending represented a 250-percent increase from 2008.
Croatia and Hungary coordinate the development of infrastructure, especially transportation routes. Pan-European corridors Vb and Vc connect Budapest to the Adriatic Sea via Zagreb and Rijeka (Vb) and to Osijek and Ploče (Vc). The Pan-European corridor Vb comprises road and rail links between the Hungarian and Croatian capitals and the Port of Rijeka. The corridor's road component primarily consists of the M7, the A4 and the A6 motorways (as well as several other connecting motorway sections) completed on 22 October 2008. The rail component of the corridor largely uses the route completed in 1873, but it is planned to be rebuilt to increase its capacity. The Pan-European corridor Vc primarily consists of the M6 and the A5 motorways; however, as of December 2011, the motorway is not completed. Other infrastructure jointly developed by Croatia and Hungary includes a €395 million gas pipeline and two electric-power lines. On the border between Croatia and Hungary there are six international-road border crossings, three rail border crossings and five local-traffic border crossings. Both Croatia and Hungary are today members of the border-free Schengen Area.
Minorities and migrations
According to the 2001 census there are 16,595 Hungarians living in Croatia, representing 0.37 percent of the population. In 2000, there were 15,597 Croats living in Hungary, accounting for 0.15 percent of the total population. The Hungarian minority in Croatia is recognised by the Constitution of Croatia; minority rights (including official use of Hungarian by local governments and education in Hungarian) are safeguarded by legislation enacted by the Sabor. Seven municipalities in Croatia introduced Hungarian for official use (either in part of their territory or the entire municipality), depending on the distribution of the Hungarian population there. There are five Hungarian minority organizations in Croatia, and the Hungarian minority is guaranteed one seat in the Croatian Parliament.