Fireworks lit the sky and festive crowds gathered on the streets to mark Croatia’s entry into the European Union, a major milestone some 20 years after the country won independence in a bloody civil war that shook the continent.

Croatia became the 28th member of the EU at midnight last night, a milestone capping the Adriatic republic’s recovery from war but tinged with anxiety over its economy and the state of the bloc it joins.

Croatia voted yesterday in favour of joining the EU in 2013, shrugging off concerns over economic turmoil in the bloc, the preliminary official results of a referendum show.

Thousands of Croatian protesters accused the government of economic hardship and widespread corruption during a march on a bankrupt factory in the capital, Zagreb.