COOPERATION BETWEEN SERBIA AND CROATIA IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS

Pop-Lazić Isidora (Istraživač-saradnik, Institut za međunarodnu politiku i privredu, Beograd), isidora@diplomacy.bg.ac.rs

The paper presents an analysis of the variations and types of cooperation between Serbia and Croatia during emergency situations that cause crossborder threats, such as those that existed during natural and other disasters such as floods, earthquakes, the COVID-19 virus pandemic, the refugee and migrant crisis, and so on. Emergency situations, by their very nature, presuppose cooperation with neighboring countries. The first part of the paper will discuss the categorical definition of the concept of emergency situations as a security threat, its constitutive elements, and different types and forms. The following is a comparative analysis of the development of the normative framework in the field of emergency situations, both in Serbia and Croatia. Understanding the specifics, similarities, and differences of positive legal principles in this area will allow us to understand the scope of their application through practical examples, which will be discussed in the third part of the paper. The conclusion of the analysis is that cooperation between Serbia and Croatia in emergency situations in practice records ambivalent or mixed results.

Keywords: emergency situations, Serbia, Croatia, interstate cooperation, disasters, legal regulation, Serbo-Croatian relations