Despite crisis, Croatia celebrates its European Union entry

Thousands of people are expected to join in the celebrations across the country, including in the main square of the capital, Zagreb, where artists will perform for dozens of EU and regional leaders until midnight when big fireworks and the singing of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy — EU’s anthem — will mark the official entry into the bloc. With an unemployment rate hovering at around 20 percent, plunging living standards, endemic corruption among its political elite and its international credit rating reduced to junk, many Croats are not in the mood to celebrate.