Croatia officially joined ECMWF on 1 January 2016, bringing the number of Member States to 22.
Accession to full membership marks the next step for co-operation between ECMWF and Croatia, who have had a formal co-operation agreement since December 1995.
As a Member State, Croatia is gaining access to a share of the Centre’s supercomputing and archive resources for its own use. It will also have voting rights at the ECMWF Council. Croatia will continue to have full access to ECMWF's products and services as it did under the co-operation agreement.
Mr Ivan Čačić, Director of the Meteorological and Hydrological Service of Croatia and Permanent Representative of Croatia to the WMO, said he was delighted Croatia had established this vital formal link with ECMWF. He stressed that in becoming an ECMWF Member, Croatia was committed to fully supporting the mission and performance of ECMWF:
DHMZ is looking forward to enhanced usage of the ECMWF's products and facilities for its official duty, in particular related to the early warning of extreme weather events and climate watch, thus significantly contributing to saving lives, reducing damage and supporting the sustainable development of Croatia. On the other hand, we are committed to contribute with our proactive efforts to support the potential and position of the ECMWF – as an organisation, and also as a crucial entity of the European Meteorological Infrastructure.
Mr Čačić also noted that Croatia had been involved, through one of ECMWF’s founding members, in establishing the Centre. He added that the DHMZ welcomed the opportunity to continue representing Croatia at ECMWF as it had been doing since Croatia became a Co-operating State in 1995.
Newly appointed Director-General of ECMWF Florence Rabier said:
I am delighted that one of my first official duties as Director-General should be to welcome Croatia as a Member State. After some twenty years of working closely with the Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service (DHMZ), as a Co-operating State, and also a member of the ALADIN Consortium, it is excellent news that Croatia will now have an opportunity to be part of our Council, hence helping to set the Centre’s strategic direction for the years to come.
The accession will be formally marked in June, when representatives from all ECMWF Member States will gather to raise the Croatian flag at the Centre’s headquarters in Reading as part of the Centre’s summer Council meeting.