The purpose of this study was to compare the factorial structure of values and the importance of certain values, on a sample of over 4000 participants from three European countries: Croatia, Slovenia and Sweden. It was tested by applying the Theory of universal content and structure of values by Shalom Schwartz (1992). The research was conducted on the part of the data collected in 2010 in the framework of the international project of the European Social Survey - ESS. A part of the scale made to measure universal human values was used for the purpose of this research/study. The participants’ task was to assess the extent to which the default description of the values they considered similar to their own. Schwartz’s theoretical model assumes the existence of ten motivational types (universalism, self-direction, benevolence, power, security, stimulation, achievement, hedonism, conformity and tradition), which consist of 4 types of higher level values (self-transcendence, self-enhancement, openness to change and conservation). The results did not fully confirm Schwartz’s theoretical model because they obtained less than 4 superior values among all groups. The results also showed that all groups of participants differ significantly with regard to the degree of internalisation of certain values, except for the variables benevolence and security. On the benevolence variable, all participants showed insignificant mutual differentiation, whereas on the safety variable, participants from Sweden differ significantly from participants from Croatia and Slovenia. These findings may indicate a change in the internalized values among individuals in modern society.