Croatia celebrates the 24th anniversary of international recognition today, remembering January 15, 1992 when the countries of the then European Community (EC) jointly recognised it as an independent state. And Germany, which played a key role in that process together with the Holy See, established diplomatic relations with Croatia.

The first country to recognize Croatia was Iceland on the 19th of December 1991 while Germany recognized it the very same day. The European Economic Community finally granted Croatia diplomatic recognition on 15 January 1992. Two more countries decided to recognize Croatia before the EEC – scheduled date: the Holy See and San Marino. By the end of January Croatia was recognized by seven more countries.