edit: sutra je predstavljanje našeg šveđanina. jedva čekam 

The Insider: Boro's hopes of a major Croatian tie-up are caught up in red tape

8:00am Saturday 15th June 2013 in Sport By Scott Wilson

MIDDLESBROUGH'S hopes of a lucrative tie up with clubs in Croatia are set to be adversely affected by the terms of the Slavic nation's accession to the European Union.

Boro officials have been courting clubs and contacts in Croatia in an attempt to pave the way for talented young Croatian footballers to move to Teesside at an early stage of their career.

Former Boro striker Alen Boksic has been heavily involved in the discussions, and travelled to England to attend a game at the Riverside towards the end of last season.

Other media outlets have suggested that Boro's growing interest in Croatia is linked to the fact that the country will become a fully-fledged member of the EU on July 1.

It has been suggested that this will make it easier for Croatian nationals to move to Britain to work. However, this is not the case.

While Croatia will become a full EU member this year, the regulations governing the free movement of workers does not apply to new members for a five-year period.

That is why Romanian and Bulgarian citizens will only be afforded free labour movement this summer, even though their home nations joined the EU five years ago.

With specific reference to Croatia, a signature of the accession treaty of the European Union notes: "For a two-year period (from July 1), EU member states can choose restrict the right of Croatians to work in their country, or in particular sectors.

"These arrangements will be reviewed after two years, with member states allowed to extend national measures for a further period. The transitional arrangement should in principle come to an end after five years but may be extended for a further two years in those member states where putting an end to the arrangement would lead to serious disturbances to the labour market or where there would be a threat of such disruption."

This means that Croatian players will continue to be subjected to the same regulations governing the recruitment of other non-EU nationals and will still require a work permit to ply their trade in this country.

In the case of young, inexperienced, non-internationals, it is extremely unlikely that a work permit would be granted.