Economic Thought and Practice, , 2026.
Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.17818/EMIP/2026/11
ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE AND THE GREEN TRANSITION: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON WASTE MANAGEMENT IN AN EU MEMBER AND A CANDIDATE COUNTRY
Sanda Soucie
orcid.org/0000-0002-9529-7534
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business, Croatia
*
Svetlana Sokolov-Mladenović
orcid.org/0000-0002-9367-4252
; University of Niš, Faculty of Economics, Serbia
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
This paper explores the importance of waste management for the effectiveness of the green transition and the path toward EU membership, guided by three research questions: the relationship between the length of EU membership and the efficiency of waste management; the extent to which candidate countries like Serbia can gain valuable insights from EU member states like Croatia to advance their green transition; and the role of community engagement in successful waste management. Research approaches included statistical databases and cluster analysis, and a survey conducted among Serbian and Croatian citizens. The results show that the EU-27 member states can be grouped into six clusters composed of countries with similar EU accession periods. Contrary to the findings of the cluster analysis − where Serbia is among the EU’s worst performers in waste management − the survey results revealed a high level of public awareness regarding the importance of sustainable waste management and recycling.
Keywords
waste management; EU; green transition; Croatia; Serbia
Hrčak ID:
345470
URI
Publication date:
17.3.2026.
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