AFTER LIBERLAND, ANOTHER SELF-PROCLAIMED STATE HAS SPRUNG UP: A young Briton deported by the Croats founded the Free Republic of Verdis!

A young man named Daniel Jackson has declared himself president of a self-proclaimed state located in a disputed area between Croatia and Serbia – a state that already has a flag, a government, a currency, and nearly 400 citizens.

Jackson founded the Free Republic of Verdis on a patch of forest along the Danube River, covering less than 50 hectares, after discovering that the land was not owned by any neighboring country due to an unresolved border dispute.

“Verdis was an idea I had when I was 14,” said Jackson, now 20. “Initially it was just a small experiment with a few friends. We all dreamed of creating something crazy.”

Verdis officially declared its independence on May 30, 2019, according to SWNS.

Larger than the Vatican

The area occupied by this Briton – known on maps as “pocket three” – is today called the second smallest state in the world, right after the Vatican.

It is located near Liberland, another self-proclaimed state on no man’s land between Serbia and Croatia.

Jackson, who works in digital design and earns a living by creating virtual worlds on the Roblox platform, began developing Verdis into a functional state at just 18 years old.

“We started to shape Verdis when I was 18 – we made the first laws and a flag,” he says. “Now we have a formed government and a great cabinet.”

Access exclusively by boat

The official languages of Verdis are English, Croatian, and Serbian, and the currency they use is the euro.

Verdis can only be reached by boat from the Croatian city of Osijek, although attempts at settlement have met with serious resistance.

In October 2023, Croatian police arrested several settlers, including Jackson himself, then deported them and issued him a lifetime ban from entering Croatia.

“They deported us, but they couldn’t say why,” Jackson stated. “They said we posed a threat to national security.”

Today, he says, he runs a “government in exile” and accuses the Croatian authorities of installing surveillance systems along the Verdis coast to block access from the Serbian side.

“We’ve had a lot of problems with the Croatian authorities, but we want good relations in the future,” he added.

“They did not welcome us in a friendly way. They were aggressive,” he claims.

Unlike Croatia, Jackson says that the authorities in Serbia were more open to conversation, and he now often travels to Belgrade.

Despite the ban on entering Croatia, Jackson continues to lobby for the right to access Verdis and hopes to one day live there.

“If we succeed, I would step down and call for elections,” he said.

“I’m not interested in power… I just want to be an ordinary citizen. This experience has opened my eyes and I am quite proud of what we have achieved.”

“We are a very small country, so we have to be careful who we accept”

Verdis started with just four people, and today has over 400 official citizens from a base of more than 15,000 applicants.

Everyone gets a passport – although Jackson warns that they should not be used for actual international travel. However, some citizens have reportedly successfully used a Verdis passport to enter foreign countries.

“We are a very small country, so we have to be careful who we accept,” says Jackson. “When approving, we look for people with sought-after skills – such as medicine or police experience.”

Despite numerous obstacles, Jackson remains optimistic:

“It’s a matter of time, not whether we will return to that land,” he said.

“Croatia does not lay claim to it, so we believe we have a legitimate right – and a good chance.”

Jackson, originally from Australia, is determined to turn Verdis into more than just a thought exercise.

“To the naked eye, it looks like an ordinary forest, but when you realize you’re in a country you created yourself – it’s magical,” he concludes.