BBC Learning English

Words in the News

Croatia enters the European Union
1 July 2013
_____________________________________________________
The European Union now has 28 member states. Croatia officially joined on Monday after
a process that lasted almost a decade. Thousands of people attended a special event in
the capital Zagreb to mark the occasion. But the new era has been greeted cautiously by
both locals and foreign officials.
Guy De Launey reports for the BBC:
As the clock struck midnight, the anthem of the European Union rang out across
Zagreb's main square and at last Croatia completed its journey from combat zone of
the former Yugoslavia to member of Europes biggest club.

But this was not entirely an ode to joy. Zagreb's main square was hardly packed for
most of the coming-out party. And that reflects the ambivalence many people here now
feel about membership. After the prolonged economic crisis, the EU no longer looks like
the promised land Croatia applied to join a decade ago.

Likewise, the new member's own economic troubles have caused concern among the
other 27 states. Visiting foreign ministers stressed the EU's role as a builder of peace
rather than prosperity. A good point, bearing in mind Croatia's recent past. But also,
perhaps, a diplomatic fig-leaf.

Words in the News

bbclearningenglish.com

British Broadcasting Corporation 2013

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Vocabulary and definitions

anthem

official song of a particular country or organisation

combat zone

battleground during war

an ode to joy

a song about happiness (also, the title of the

European Union anthem)

ambivalence

having positive and negative feelings at the same

time

prolonged

continuing for a long time

the promised land

a place where people expect to find complete

happiness

prosperity

financial success / having lots of money

a diplomatic fig-leaf

a political idea or action that covers up an

embarrassing issue

Read and listen to the story and the vocabulary online:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2013/07/130701_witn_croatia.shtml
Related story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23118035

Words in the News

British Broadcasting Corporation 2013

Page 2 of 2
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