Croatia has moved upward by four places, according to the 2013 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index and the report of this journalist association describes the situation in Croatia, due to join the European Union on 1 July, as mixed.
In the latest report Croatia moved to 64th place after it ranked the 68th in 2012.
"Legislative reforms have brought an improvement, but it should not be forgotten that there are still many obstacles to overcome and old habits that are harmful to independent journalism still linger," reads the report.
The Reporters Without Borders organisation believes that "outside the European Union, freedom of information is in a state of collapse". Inside the EU, Hungary and Greece "have slumped" and "the Balkans remained rooted in the repressive practices of the past".
Finland, the Netherlands and Norway remain at the top of the rankings for three running years.
"Although many criteria are considered, ranging from legislation to violence against journalists, democratic countries occupy the top of the index while dictatorial countries occupy the bottom three positions. Again it is the same three as last year – Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea," according to the report.
