Fearing Venice, the Republic of Ragusa once ceded part of its territory to the Ottomans. Centuries later, this anti-Venetian buffer zone became the reason for one of the most expensive infrastructure projects in the history of Croatia. Built by China, paid for by EU taxpayers.
The area once handed over to the Ottomans by Ragusa is now part of Bosnia-Hercegovina (it belongs to Hercegovina, to be precise). It protrudes into Croatia like a wedge, dividing Dalmatia into two parts. Hence the idea of a huge bridge to connect Croatia with Croatia.
For years, the European Investment Bank & other European financial institutions refused to support the idea, calling it pointless. When this changed in 2017, that could also be read as a message to Bosnia: DonΒ΄t even dream of becoming a member of the EU.
The bridge, including access roads, tunnels etc., cost about one billion Euro to built β just to circumvent a tiny bit of some 6 or 7 kilometers of π§π¦ territory. This only makes sense as long as π§π¦ is not in the EU. On history, geography, and borders.
faz.net
faz.net
Loading suggestions...