Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Croatia on the road to accession
Date: 2007-10-24
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: Croatia, accession negotiations, accession to the European Union, company constituted under civil law, political situation, socioeconomic conditions

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Member States, at least until 31 December 2010. The Commis-
sion hopes that, by that date, the Council will have adopted the
new directive bringing order to all exemptions across the
board, as called for in the Communication.

3. Specif ic comments

3.1
The EESC congratulates the Commission on its work:
both the proposal for a directive, which it endorses unre-
servedly, and the publication of a Communication announcing
the definition of an ‘exemption’ structure which is consistent
with the principles of the single market and the Lisbon Strategy.

Brussels, 24 October 2007.

The EESC will issue a specific opinion on the Communication,
to make a constructive contribution to the debate.

that

Previous experience would suggest

the general
3.2
interest of reaching swift consensus on the proposal might take
second place to defending particular interests and policies: the
EESC hopes that this fear will prove unfounded. In terms of
technical accuracy the proposal cannot be criticised: as the deci-
sion-making process progresses, only the political aspects will
play a role. The EESC draws the decision-makers' attention to
the needs of the market and the public, which require trans-
parent, fair laws to be adopted without delay.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Dimitris DIMITRIADIS

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Croatia on the road to accession

(2008/C 44/27)

On 16 February 2007 the European Economic and Social Committee, acting under Rule 29(2) of its Rules
of Procedure, decided to draw up an own-initiative opinion on: Croatia on the road to accession.

The Section for External Relations, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the
subject, adopted its opinion on 3 October 2007. The rapporteur was Ms Anne-Marie Sigmund.

At its 439th plenary session, held on 24 and 25 October 2007 (meeting of 24 October 2007), the European
Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 155 votes to two with four abstentions.

1. Introduction

1.1
On 20 April 2004, the Commission issued a positive
opinion on Croatia's application for accession to the European
Union; on 20 December 2004, the European Council decided to
open accession negotiations in March 2005, which were then
postponed to October 2005.

1.2
The joint screening process was successfully completed
in October 2006, and bilateral accession negotiations were able
to begin. Substantial progress has been made on the political
and economic criteria and on transposing the acquis.

1.3
The Committee welcomes the speedy progress of the
negotiations and the broad-based participation of Croatian civil

society in this process but stresses that the contribution of all
society organisations concerned is
the representative civil
needed, and in particular the comprehensive involvement of the
social partners in the negotiation of all the relevant chapters. In
this context, the Committee refers to its opinion of 31 March
forward in point 5.5, which
2004 and the arguments put
continue to be valid and which it now reiterates (1).

1.4
This opinion will refrain from making another analysis
of existing statistical material, but will instead concentrate on
assessing the situation of organised civil society in Croatia, asses-
sing its foundations, opportunities and challenges.

(1) EESC opinion of 31.3.2004 on Croatia's Application for EU membership
(rapporteur Mr Strasser), point 5.5: ‘If the Croatian economy is to success-
fully cope with the conditions applying in the EU's internal market, it is essen-
tial that the necessary reforms, liberalisation measures and adjustments to
comply with EU law receive the support of civil society. Key prerequisites in this
context are that the Croatian population is kept adequately informed of the
importance and the impact of Croatia's integration into the EU and that repre-
sentative civil society organisations are involved in the political decision-making
processes.’ (OJ C 112, 30.4.2004, p.68).

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2. General comments on the role of civil society

2.1
The history of the emergence of organised civil society in
the ‘old’ Member States is very different from the formation of
civil society activities in the ‘new’ Member States, whose situa-
tion applies by analogy to Croatia: whilst in the first case, civil
society initiatives arose within countries out of demand and/or
needs, or to defend particular interests in accordance with the
bottom-up principle, there was civil society involvement in the
second group of states to highlight ideas or concerns, but in
most cases first and foremost against the over-powerful state.
(This does not apply, however, to the social partners, as in their
case the representation of interests always took priority.) It is
also because of these origins that all these countries needed to a
greater or lesser extent to catch up in areas that are key to civil
society activity such as
transparency and
autonomy.

solidarity,

trust,

2.2
Since 1999 the Committee has been concerned with
describing organised civil society and formulating definitions (2).
A significant finding arising from the Committee's analysis of
the situation and role of civil society in Croatia is the fact that,
partly for historical reasons, the social partners, in their capacity
as representatives of employers and workers, form the ‘hardcore’
of the civil society players. Alongside the representation of inter-
ests, a common feature of all representatives of organised civil
society is their commitment to the common good, which distin-
guishes them clearly from lobbyists, who also represent inter-
ests. The Committee considers this complex and open definition
of organised civil society to be of particular significance in rela-
tion to Croatia, as the Committee has noted that in some cases
civil society tends to be equated in Croatia with NGOs. The
Committee would sound a warning against the use of this defi-
nition, which it considers incomplete, as it would from the
outset by definition exclude the social partners from any form
of participation in civil society activity.

important

2.3
Apart from representing interests, the field of activity of
the representatives of organised civil society also includes parti-
cipation in the process of shaping public opinion and policies in
the broadest sense. In addition to numerous practical forms of
participation, the social and civil dialogues, however, are the
most
expressions of participatory democracy.
Whereas its very field of activity means that the social dialogue
is restricted to the social partners and cannot be extended, all
representatives of organised civil society can take part in the
civil dialogue, providing they meet
the necessary criteria of
representativeness. While the social dialogue can be clearly
described, there is still no corresponding definition of the civil
dialogue. Perhaps the closest approximation we have to a defini-
tion of
Jürgen Habermas, who
describes it an element of participatory democracy, an interac-
tive discourse into which normative content can flow. By
analogy with the social dialogue, civil dialogue can take place
both vertically, between the state and organised civil society, and

the civil dialogue is that of

(2) The role and contribution of civil society organisations in the building of

Europe.

horizontally, between the organised civil society players them-
selves. The Committee stresses the importance of drawing a
distinction between the concepts of social and civil dialogue.
Civil dialogue complements the social dialogue, but does not
replace it.

the European Economic

and Social
At European level
Committee is the institutional representative of organised civil
society in the Member States.
It is thus the ‘home of civil
dialogue’, but not the forum for social dialogue.

2.4
The Committee considers the issue of representativeness
of civil society actors to be particularly important, as it goes
hand in hand with their democratic legitimacy. It is therefore
not enough to represent a sufficient number of the affected or
interested parties,
i.e. be quantitatively representative; a civil
society organisation must also — indeed first and foremost —
be qualitatively representative, i.e. be able, by virtue of its specia-
list knowledge, experience and specific skills, to play a construc-
tive part in events. Amongst the other qualitative criteria for
recognising a civil society organisation, elements such as trans-
parency, democratic decision-making structures, sustainability,
economic independence and autonomy are especially important,
in young democracies. The Committee has
particularly
commented in a number of opinions both on the composition
of organised civil society and on the representativeness of its
representatives, and has drawn up a list of civil society players
as well as a list of representativeness criteria (3).

3. Current state of play

3.1 The socio-economic situation in Croatia

3.1.1
The economic situation in Croatian is stable, although
it varies significantly from region to region. The steady trend of
economic growth at the rate of about 4,8 % that has been
witnessed over recent years (2002-2006) is projected to remain
about the same in the two years to come. Attention should be
drawn, however to the continuing high level of disparity in
regional economic development. Average consumer price infla-
tion reached 3,2 % in 2006, which represents a 0,8 % increase
since 2002, but overall price stability has been maintained.
There have also been negative developments, however, in rela-
tion to the trade deficit and external indebtedness, as well as a
growing budget deficit. In order to tackle indebtedness, the goal
of
increasing investment and public-private partnerships is
gaining ground in Croatia.

(3) EESC opinion of 22.9.1999 on The role and contribution of civil society
organisations in the building of Europe (Rapporteur: Ms Sigmund) (OJ C
329, 17.11.1999, p.30).
EESC opinion of 25.4.2001 on Organised civil society and European
governance: the Committee's contribution to the drafting of the White Paper
(rapporteurs: Ms Sigmund and Mr Rodriguez Garcia Caro) OJ C 193,
10.7.2001, p.117).
EESC opinion of 14.2.2006 on The representativeness of European civil
society organisations in civil dialogue (rapporteur: Mr Olsson) (OJ C 88,
11.4.2006, p. 41).

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The Committee would also point out in this connection that
government measures are needed, not only for EU accession but
also in the longer term as a signal of the country's willingness
to meet the convergence criteria for accession to the third stage
of European monetary union.

the Croatian government, but also from the activities of national
and international donors and civil society.

3.1.2 With regard to the social situation, there is, despite
laudable progress over the last few years, still work to be done,
e.g. in tackling labour market problems:

— the rate of long-term unemployment is well above the EU
average and overall the employment rate is relatively low.
This creates an unfavourable
ratio between employed
persons and people receiving social benefits;

— the harmonised unemployment rate (based on the labour
it reached
force survey)
11,2 % in the first quarter of this year, down from 11,8 %
in the first half of 2006;

is on a stable downward trend;

— the rate of youth employment is very low;

— declining formal unemployment
high rate of informal employment;

is counterbalanced by a

— there is a potential/foreseeable danger of new jobs being

increasingly poorly paid and insecure.

Action is also needed to address the still relatively low level of
average household incomes.

3.1.3
A report by the European Foundation for the Improve-
ment of Living and Working Conditions, based in Dublin (4),
paints a picture of the social situation in Croatia and contains
the following recommendations:
‘Regionally balanced economic
development is needed to sustain growth and create good-quality jobs;
the focus on employment policy needs to shift from income support to
training to encourage the unemployed into work; affordable housing
needs to be provided for families who cannot afford private sector
housing;
incentives need to be given to enable children and young
people to enrol and stay in school; and more affordable childcare is
labour market participation and help
required to boost women's
parents balance work and family life. The overall policy message is that
promoting living standards and social inclusion should be defined as a
priority across all areas of policymaking and implementation, thus
ensuring a multi-dimensional and holistic approach to preventing and
reducing poverty, inequality and social exclusion’.

There are numerous initiatives promoting small and
3.1.4
medium-sized enterprise growth. These initiatives emanate from

(4) Quality of life in Croatia: key findings from national research, Dublin, 2007.

The Committee considers it important to create a favourable
environment
for business –especially for SMEs, which are
drivers of growth and job creation, notably in disadvantaged
regions. In this context, the Committee welcomes the increasing
activity of the association for SMEs operating within the Croa-
tian Employers' Association (HUP).

3.1.5
The Committee considers agriculture to be a key area
of the accession negotiations. Most agricultural production takes
place on small family farms of an average size of 2.4 ha, which
together account for some 80 % of agricultural land and live-
stock. Much agricultural land is still unusable because of war
damage (e.g. mines). In some cases there are unresolved prop-
erty ownership issues. Croatian agriculture is at present uncom-
petitive and is in the throes of change. Clearly there is a need
for comprehensive reform of Croatian agricultural policy, e.g. in
connection with EU accession. The agriculture ministry has
launched corresponding strategic development projects, which
aim to boost the competitiveness of domestic production. There
has also been progress in implementing rural development,
quality and organic farming programmes. There is still a need
for a comprehensive food safety strategy.

Suitable structures are also urgently needed to implement the
common agricultural policy and to introduce the politically
independent representation of interests, which is needed not
only for political reasons (ensuring the right to a voice) but also
for practical reasons (assistance with the administration of Com-
munity funds under the pre-accession strategy during the acces-
sion phase, and participation in their administration and distri-
bution after enlargement).

3.1.6
An aging population as a characteristic process in all
European countries means a challenge in shaping public social
security policies. Demographic change is also a problem for
Croatia, although average life expectancy in Croatia — particu-
larly when compared to the ‘old’ Member States — is lower
than in many other European states. The Croatian social security
system is not equipped to react to an aging population. Reforms
of social security have been subject to a strong influence from
international financial institutions.

the representation of

Moreover,
the older
sections of the population in the political arena is a relatively
new phenomenon in the Republic of Croatia.

the interests of

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3.1.7
There is a small level of migration into and out of the
Republic of Croatia, with immigration almost three times the
emigration level. However, both immigration and emigration are
tending to decrease and do not represent an important statistical
factor.

pattern of success. In addition to minority rights, specific under-
standing is still needed for the integration or return of refugees
and internally displaced persons, as well as for the resettlement
of returning refugees, with the aim of physical as well as societal
reconstruction. In principle, however, it can be said that useful
steps have been taken in the right direction.

3.2 The political situation in Croatia

3.2.1
The Committee believes that the forthcoming parlia-
mentary elections (November 2007) will not affect the stable
political situation in Croatia. Even though the opinion polls
show different
results, not clearly indicating the possible
outcome of the elections, the pro-EU stance of all the major
political parties is a factor preventing any possible shift of the
present European orientation in Croatian politics. The overall
objective of the political parties is to join the European Union
by 2009.

3.2.2
Several reforms of the public sector are being under-
taken at present. Public administration reform with the goal of
promoting more efficient and competent public administration
is being pursued in parallel with the reform of the judiciary,
aiming at doing away with a backlog of cases and promoting
the rule of law paradigm.

3.2.3
In line with internal and external evaluations, the fight
against corruption is placed high on the agenda for accession to
the European Union. Criminal procedures initiated by the state
authorities are more and more being supplemented by civil
society calls for transparency and legality in political party finan-
cing, public procurement procedures, access to information and
avoidance of conflicts of
interest. These efforts are being
hindered by a lack of trust in institutions, but a generalised
publicity campaign is sure to give results in the mid-term.

Here, organised civil society continues to play an important role
and contributes to the fight against corruption. In relation to
that, the partnership project ‘Development of Local Civil Initia-
tives through Capacity Building on Several Levels’ resulted in ten
associations from eight Croatian Cities gathering in a multidisci-
plinary network called ‘BURA’.

3.2.4
The protection of minorities requires further efforts.
These efforts should encompass promotion and protection of
minority rights and lead to the practical integration of minori-
ties. In this context, the Committee welcomes the fact that the
Croatian government's 2007 employment plan makes specific
reference to, and implements, the right of national minorities to
In this
equal
regard the 2007 elections for councils of national minorities
should also be mentioned. The results achieved with the Roma
minority regarding their integration into schooling show a

in the civil service.

in employment

treatment

3.3 Organised civil society in Croatia

3.3.1
primarily from the following sources:

The legal framework for civil society in Croatia arises

— The Associations Act provides the overall framework for
civil society associations and represents a relatively good
legal environment covering the majority of civil society
actors (5).

— The Labour Act regulates the establishment and functioning
(including the framework for collective bargaining) of trade
unions and their associations, and employers' organisations
and their associations.

— The Volunteer Act regulates the notion, principles, condi-
tions and practice of volunteering as a possible way of
providing volunteer work also in civil society organisations
as organisers of volunteering.

— The Endowments and Foundations Act (6) represents an
important source, especially in the field of financing civil
society.

— Additional sources include the Institutions Act, the Social
Welfare Act, and a range of laws and regulations in the field
of financing, taxation and humanitarian work, also related
to civil
society. The representatives of employers and
employees also have an important role to play here, in addi-
tion to their role as social partners.

A change in Croatian civil society can also be observed
3.3.2
in the activities of NGOs. With the previous predominant orien-
tation of civil society towards the protection and promotion of
human rights and humanitarian work, today there is a shift
towards the realisation of social policy and social rights.

(5) According to available data, some 27 000 civic associations are regis-

tered in Croatia.

(6) At this moment there are about 90 foundations in the country.

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environmental

Also
a
capability to act jointly, through the creation of formal and
informal networks, gathered around specific actions.

demonstrated

organisations

have

A tendency towards stronger networking and organisational
grouping is noticeable as well with the youth organisations,
disabled persons' associations and women's organisations.

The Croatian consumer protection organisations are trying to
assert consumer rights. But the human and financial resources
are not sufficient to deal with consumer protection, consumer
information and lobbying on behalf of consumers in a sustained
way.

In the context of civil society activities in Croatia, the
3.3.3
dialogue between the social partners at various levels merits par-
ticular attention.

framework for a tripartite social dialogue
The institutional
(employers and trade unions as partners of government)
is
formally well developed through the Croatian Economic and
Social Council. So far, however, it has produced few concrete
results. One of the reasons for this is the still not completely
resolved problem of the fragmentation of interest groups, not
only on the employees' side. The Committee considers that
further consolidation of interests at the level of the various
organisations would be desirable, also in the interests of the
representativeness of individual associations. Another cause can
be found in the practical arrangements: thus, for example, the
deadlines for submission of opinions by the social partners are
usually too short (in most cases only 3-4 days), and there is no
feedback as to why specific proposals have not been taken up.

An autonomous, bipartite social dialogue does already exist at
company level. At this level it creates the most implications for
relationships between both workers and employers and trade
in the form of numerous collective
unions and employers,
agreements and also through the works council
track. But
autonomous bipartite social dialogue still has a great deal of
unrealised potential related to resolving the issue of trade union
representativeness with a single employer and establishing the
representation on the workers' side in collective bargaining.
Additionally, in SMEs there is a relatively low level of interest
representation and organisation of workers.

establishing

representativeness of both workers

At sectoral level social dialogue is mostly absent. The reason for
this is very much influenced by the still not fully resolved issue
of
and
employers and the problems of establishing the scope of sectors
and branches as bargaining units. Bearing in mind the impor-
tance of sectoral bargaining on influencing the conditions of the
overall economic situation, the development of social dialogue
should be focused at this level.

Since the social dialogue is still mainly conducted by the govern-
ment through a tripartite social dialogue, the main focus is put
on tripartite consultations. But without the development of an
autonomous bipartite relations system at national and sectoral
level and without emphasising sectoral collective bargaining, it
will be difficult
to develop a well-structured and balanced
system of industrial relations. In this regard also the statistics of

collective bargaining coverage and membership should be made
public.

3.3.4
As in many European countries, in Croatia there is a
lack of understanding of the various forms of civil dialogue.
Although the Croatian government has already set up useful,
operational conditions for the civil dialogue, this is only a begin-
ning. On very few occasions up until now has there been a
broad civil society consensus on particular issues, with strong
representation of
the draft
Access to Public Information Act, and ecological issues relating
to the Druzhba Adria project and the LGN terminal
in the
Adriatic, provide encouragement for the future.

interests. However, support

for

3.3.5
The Committee stresses in this connection that a struc-
tured civil dialogue, as a complement to social dialogue, is an
It should not,
essential aspect of participatory democracy.
however, be restricted to the opportunity for consultation but
must, above all — in accordance with the bottom-up principle
which is inherent in civil society action — guarantee the right
of participation.

The existing institutional

3.3.6
framework in Croatia for
creating a modern form of participatory democracy is very
promising in its approach.

3.3.6.1
The Croatian government's Office for Coopera-
tion with NGOs, set up in 1998, was the first public body to
be charged with building structured cooperation between the
state and civil society. This office now also manages the not
inconsiderable subsidies for Croatian civil society (HRK 85,94
million), proposes legislative solutions for the sector, and coor-
dinates the activities of national, regional and local actors. In
2006,
to
HRK 321 626 823.06 (about EUR 44,1 million) was granted to
civil society organisations in Croatia.

amounting

financial

support

total

The office is also in charge of supervision and implementation
of the National Strategy for the Creation of an Enabling Envir-
onment for Civil Society Development (adopted in July 2006).

The Strategy defines the situation and goals in ten areas of civil
society:

— value-based relations between the state and civil society;

— social cohesion and integration;

— citizen's participation in the creation of public policies;

— education for democratic citizenship and human rights;

— legal framework for action and development of civil society;

— institutional framework to support the development of civil

society;

— system of financing to support the development of civil

society;

— regional development;

— development of volunteering, philanthropy and establish-

ment of foundations;

— development of civil society in the international context.

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The operational plan adopted by the government on 1 February
2007 provides for specific measures for the period 2007-2011
and also lists the institutions responsible.

that clearer and simpler regulations are an extra tool
in the
battle against corruption and that, with this package of
measures, Croatia could serve as an example for the region.

for

The Council

3.3.6.2
the Development of Civil
Society was set up in 2002 and is a cross-sector consultative
body for the Croatian government; its job is to come up with
strategies for developing civil society and for monitoring the
implementation of the government's programmes for coopera-
tion with the sector. The council is a joint body, with ten repre-
sentatives of the relevant government offices and ten representa-
tives of organised civil society, assisted by three experts. The
mandate of the Council's second session officially ended in July
2006,
till 1
though it was prolonged by the Government
February 2007. On the occasion of
the new constitution
assembly of the Council, held on 16 February 2007, a new
president of the Council was appointed. Five sessions of the
Council were held in the first half of July 2007.

3.3.6.3
The National Foundation for Civil Society Devel-
opment was established in 2003 by the Croatian Parliament
and acts outside the structures of national and local govern-
ment. The main activities of the Foundation include the provi-
sion of financial and expert support to programmes promoting
sustainability of non-profit-organisations,
inter-sectional coop-
eration, civic initiatives, volunteering etc. The Foundation is
financed from the state budget, from income collected through
official lotteries, but also from foreign donors (e.g. the European
Commission). The management of this innovative instrument
includes,
in equal proportions, the representatives of national
government, organised civil society and experts in the field.

Further simplification of legal procedures will also be required.
New legislative measures should not, however, derogate from
laws that have not been adapted, as this would have negative
effects, such as undesirable legal uncertainty, in the first, sensi-
tive stage of membership.

The Committee considers the length of court procedures to be a
problem requiring solution. The socially weaker parties to
disputes are often placed at a disadvantage or deterred from
bringing actions by procedures which can in some cases last for
years. The establishment of specialised labour and arbitration
courts would go some way towards solving the problem in the
area of employment disputes by shortening and simplifying
procedures.

The area of
land acquisition also seems to require measures
aimed at ensuring more transparency so as to give foreign inves-
tors the required planning security. The process of digitalisation
and on-line availability of (land) registers in Croatia launched by
the Croatian government is a major step towards the achieve-
ment of this goal.

4.2
In this context, the Committee recognises Croatia's parti-
cularly difficult position: as well as preparing for accession, the
country is in the process of dealing with the consequences of
the ‘homeland war’.

4. Analysis:

An initial assessment leads to the following conclusions:

4.1

The Committee recognises and applauds Croatia's efforts to
continue the accession negotiations without delay and believes
that the environment is favourable to this pace being kept up
throughout the campaigning for the elections in Autumn 2007.
However, the Committee points out that the measures to be
taken in terms of legislation, but also in administrative reform,
must be as simple, clear and above all sustainable as possible.
The Committee considers the initiative of the Croatian govern-
ment aimed at introducing the ‘one stop shop’ system for regis-
tering companies in Croatia to be an important step in this
direction. The Committee particularly welcomes the implemen-
tation of the Hitrorez project, which aims at reducing inefficient
and outdated laws and regulations and proposes to wipe out as
many as 420 regulations connected with the business sector. It
will need to be ensured, however, that these legislative measures
to not lead to the dismantling of employee protection rights
and that, above all, the existing guarantees of social and collec-
tive human rights are maintained. The Committee also believes

The Committee believes that the formal fulfilment of the
4.3
accession criteria should not be the sole purpose of the acces-
sion negotiations. Particularly in the final phase of the pre-acces-
sion period, the active role and contribution of qualitatively and
quantitatively representative civil society actors will play a signif-
icant part in preparing Croatia's citizens for accession. After
accession,
these representatives of civil society organisations
will, both within the framework of the existing social dialogue
and as stakeholders in civil dialogue, do much to help ensure
that the standards set by the transposed Community acquis are
implemented and/or applied across the board. It should also be
pointed out that strong and effective civil society organisations
have an important role to play in implementing the Community
acquis and in monitoring, particularly in period immediately
following Croatia's accession to the EU. An equally important
role will fall to them in the administrative sphere, e.g. in mana-
ging Community funding. In some areas (e.g. SMEs, the profes-
sions, agriculture) there is a lack of long-term, horizontal struc-
tures which meet these requirements. Strengthening civil society
players who meet all the representativeness criteria is thus not
only an objective to be pursued in the context of the accession
negotiations but also a measure which will have positive effects,
particularly after Croatia's EU accession.

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5. Final comments

The Croatian government has set

5.1
the goal of
meeting the criteria for EU accession by 2009. The Committee
is determined, within the limits of its competences, to support
Croatia strongly in this.

itself

In the last two accession rounds the Committee has accumu-
lated valuable experience, which it would now like to put to
practical use in the current enlargement discussions with
Croatia,
in the interests of both parties and for their mutual
benefit.

The Committee considers that this cooperation should be
5.2
as pragmatic and unbureaucratic as possible, focusing on the
issue. It must be based on the shared belief that organised civil
society is not only an important consultative partner in the
process of shaping opinions and policy during the accession
round, but that it will also have a vital and continuing role to
play after enlargement. Efficient civil society organisations which
meet the essential qualitative and quantitative representativeness
for breathing life into the participatory
criteria are essential
element of a modern democracy. They will be essential
to
Croatia, as a new EU Member State, in the implementation and
practical application of the country's adapted legislation. The
Committee offers its assistance and cooperation in tackling

Brussels, 24 October 2007.

these current and future tasks. This could take the following
form:

— sectoral meetings with representatives of Croatian organised
civil society for the purpose of sharing information, views
and experience;

— participation of EESC members in seminars or other initia-
tives under the IPA (Instrument for Pre-Accession Assis-
tance);

— cooperation with the organisers of the Croatian information
and communication campaign on accession, cooperation on
drawing up case studies, which will
illustrate the conse-
quences of accession for specific groups in a transparent and
easily understandable way. It goes without saying that this
should not be limited to the rational aspect, but that the
emotional side must also be addressed. Experience shows
that hostile attitudes in the pre-accession phase are often
caused by fears based on ignorance. Including Committee
members in relevant information campaigns also has the
advantage that members of the Committee come from orga-
nisations that are in many cases comparable to Croatian civil
society organisations. They are therefore credible and can
communicate on the same level as the target group.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Dimitris DIMITRIADIS