The entity encompassed the same territory as the SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia, which was formed in 1991, and was an exclave had been merged into the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina.

The main one of them was the Joint Council of Municipalities, an elected consultative sui generis inter-municipal body created to advocate for the interests of the Serb community in the region.

International community remained present in the region primarily in observers capacity via the United Nations Civilian Police Support Group (16 January 1998–15 October 1998) and OSCE Mission to Croatia (1996–2007).

Eastern Slavonia, Baranja, and Western Syrmia was formed out of the only part of the rebel Republic of Serbian Krajina that was not overrun by Croatian government forces in August 1995.

After Operation Storm in August 1995, by which the majority of the Republic of Serbian Krajina was restored to Croatian control, Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia became a de facto self-governing territory.

[10] In November 1995, local Serb leaders signed the Erdut Agreement, by which the eventual re-integration of this region into Croatia was agreed-upon.

After Operation Flash, representatives of Republika Srpska and Republic of Serbian Krajina announced that they would implement unification of these two entities.

[11] In response to this, local Serb leaders in Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia founded a body called the Coordinating Committee that opposed unification, arguing that it would just deepen the crisis and damage Belgrade's intentions to achieve peace in Bosnia.

[11] This statement became a reality once Operation Storm was completed because western parts of Republic of Serbian Krajina no longer existed.

[12] That same year, the Joint Council of Municipalities was founded, and by the end of reintegration, all the other entities were abolished and replaced by Croatian institutions.

[11] In 1997 in Vukovar, protests were organized in which the local population called for the establishment of autonomous Serbian institutions after the completion of reintegration.

[14] The majority of ethnic Croats from Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia were expelled from the region in conflicts in the early nineties.

The persecution of 150 locals of Ćelije in the village of Trpinja municipality in July 1991 was the first mass exodus of the population in the Croatian War.

[1] Although one of the tasks of the first United Nations mission UNPROFOR was to create conditions for the return of refugees, little had been done on that issue before signing Erdut Agreement.

[17] The Joint Council of Municipalities was established as one of the central institutions in the region yet it was in no way legally linked as a successor to the Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia.

The Kopački rit natural preserve was located near the confluence of Drava and Danube, and it formed a major geographical barrier – there were no road or rail connections between Baranja and the southern parts of the territory, except through Serbia.