Globalization is a process that allows the connection of countries and the creation of communities that allow the stability and progress of the countries' economies. It is very important to point out that all countries in the world are different and each country has its own advantages and disadvantages (resulting from their geographical, historical, resource or institutional frameworks). One of the most interesting, and certainly in line with the economic and general social progress of the developed communities, is the European Union. The European Union is a community that strives to create a single market, ensure freedom, security and justice, and establish an economic and monetary union in the true sense of the word. At the time of writing, the European Union has 27 members, and Croatia became part of the Union in 2013. In order to determine the position and state of the economy of the countries of the European Union, an analysis based on selected indicators such as import and export, unemployment rate, gross domestic product per capita, share of the national target in the gross domestic product and inflation rate is carried out. The period used for the analysis of the above indicators is the year 2020 and the year 2021 for the inflation rate due to the significant changes that have taken place in the world and affect the price trends. However, an overview of the evolution of the indicators from previous periods is also provided in order to obtain the most objective overview of the state of certain areas that are important for international competitiveness and specialization, which is also the subject of research in this thesis. Based on this, a comparative analysis of the competitiveness of member countries is conducted, using the Ease of Doing Business Index and the Global Competitiveness Index 4.0, as well as trends in the world market, in order to identify the "winners" in the world market (both countries and industries). As mentioned above, each country has its own advantages and disadvantages, and it is very important to know how to identify the comparative advantages of countries that can be "leveraged" to improve their positions in the global competitiveness rankings.It is equally important to present the position of Croatia in comparison with the countries of the European Union. Thus, we try to show the contribution and influence of the Croatian economy in the Union, as well as the benefits of membership in the Union for the Croatian economy. Sometimes membership is discussed too "lightly", without economic and objective arguments for the advantages of membership in one of the richest "regions" in the world. The more important elements that try to present Croatia's position in the European Union (but also in general at the global level) are the general analysis of competitiveness and its position in the ranking of various measures of competitiveness, as well as how high is its share in European Union exports (but also its dependence on imports)