Report from the Commission - Annual report of the instrument for structural policy for pre-accession (ISPA) 2007 [SEC(2008)2681]
Date: 2008-10-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: activity report, pre-accession aid

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 27.10.2008 
COM(2008)671 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE INSTRUMENT FOR STRUCTURAL POLICY FOR 
PRE-ACCESSION (ISPA) 2007 

[SEC(2008)2681] 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

17. 

18. 

New ISPA projects....................................................................................................... 5 

New Commitments ...................................................................................................... 5 

Projects funded between 2005-2007 ............................................................................ 5 

Payments ...................................................................................................................... 6 

Summary tables............................................................................................................ 7 

Forms and delivery of technical assistance.................................................................. 8 

Technical assistance on the initiative of the beneficiary country ................................ 8 

Implementation .......................................................................................................... 10 

Project monitoring...................................................................................................... 10 

Financial management and control, including EDIS.................................................. 11 

Risk assessment.......................................................................................................... 12 

European Court of Auditors findings......................................................................... 12 

Co-financing partners – EIB, EBRD and KfW.......................................................... 12 

Public procurement .................................................................................................... 13 

Competition policy..................................................................................................... 13 

Environment policy.................................................................................................... 13 

Transport policy ......................................................................................................... 14 

Publicity actions ......................................................................................................... 15 

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Introduction 

Following  the  Brussels  European  Council  in  June  2004,  which  awarded  candidate 
country  status  to  Croatia,  this  country  has  benefited  from  ISPA  as  of  1st  January 
2005. Croatia thus followed the previous ISPA beneficiary countries which received 
ISPA  assistance  from  when  the  instrument  was  launched  in  2000.  On  January  1st 
2007  Bulgaria  and  Romania  became  members  of  the  European  Union  and  ceased 
being beneficiaries of pre-accession funding including ISPA. As a result, this report 
covers  the  ISPA  activities  carried  out  only  in  Croatia,  being  the  single  remaining 
recipient  of  ISPA  financing.  Reporting  on  the  implementation  of  ISPA/Cohesion 
Fund projects in Romania and Bulgaria will be dealt with in the annual report for the 
Cohesion Fund. 

ISPA as a programmed ceased to exist at the end of 2006 and consequently no new 
projects  will  be  approve.  Therefore  this  and  future  annual  ISPA  reports  will  relate 
exclusively to the implementation of those ISPA projects in Croatia that have already 
been approved. 

The year 2007 for Croatia entailed various challenges. The major goal was to make a 
start of tendering out the various contracts in order that disbursement of funds could 
commence.  Progress  in  this  respect  was  observed  with  a  number  of  tenders  being 
announced  prior  to  the  end  of  the  year.  Due  to  the  fact  that  the  respective  tenders 
were launched only at the end of the year very little progress is apparent regarding 
the disbursement of funds.  

Much attention was paid in 2007 to the transformation of the Implementing Agency 
from  the  Central  Finance  and  Contracting  Unit  (CFCU  -  a  body  established  within 
the  structures  of  the  Ministry  of  Finance)  to  the  Central  Finance  and  Contracting 
Agency  (CFCA  -  a  government  agency).  The  change  was  necessary  in  order  to 
enable the provision of more attractive financial and other incentives for the staff, to 
ensuring better staff retention and encouraging the engagement of additional suitably 
experienced staff. Both these actions were in response to recommendations made by 
the Commission's auditors in 2006. 

ISPA budget  

In accordance with the Commission’s activity  based accounting system, the budget 
for the ISPA instrument was provided for by two budget lines: the functional budget 
line  B13.01.04.02  and  the  operational  budget  line  B13.05.01.01.  The  first  line 
contains the means for covering Technical Assistance (TA) administrative expenses 
(mainly for reinforcing EC Delegations) and this ended in 2006, whereas the second 
line  encompasses  the  payment  appropriations  made  available  for  the  effective 
implementation  and  operation  of  ISPA  for  the  pre-accession  countries  of  Croatia 
Bulgaria and Romania.  

Budget  line  B13.05.01.01,  amounting  to  €265,714,000  in  2007  (for  Bulgaria, 
Romania  and  Croatia),  covers  all  expenses  for  co-financing  infrastructure  projects 
(measures). Since both Romania and Bulgaria became Member States on 1st January 
2007 the payments presented below from budget line B13.05.01.01 relate exclusively 
to Croatia.

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Table 1: ISPA budget in 2007 – in Euro  

Budget line 

Functional budget line B13.01.04.02 

Operational budget line B13.05.01.01 (Croatia only) 

Total 

Payments 
implemented 

0 

124,629 

124,629 

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Project funding 

1. 

NEW ISPA PROJECTS  

No new ISPA projects were adopted in 2007. 

2. 

NEW COMMITMENTS 

No new commitments were made in  2007 for projects either  in the environment or 
transport sectors. 

3. 

PROJECTS FUNDED BETWEEN 2005-2007 

Between 2005 and 2007, the Commission approved a total of 6 projects on the basis 
of  proposals  submitted  by  Croatia.  Of  these  projects,  3  concern  the  environment 
sector, 2 the transport sector, and 1  horizontal TA measure (for the organisation of 
the  statutory  monitoring  committees  and  supporting  ISPA  implementing  agencies). 
The total eligible investment cost of these projects is €123.052 million, with a total 
of €59 million, or 47.9%, being allocated as ISPA grants. A further €1 million was 
allocated  to  cover  the  costs  of  the  administering  of  the  ISPA  programme  by  the 
Commission  thereby  allocating  the  entire  €60  million  of  ISPA  funds  allocated  to 
Croatia  until  the  end  of  the  programme.  By  the  end  of  2007,  the  Commission  had 
committed 100% of the ISPA funds set aside for Croatia covering the period 2005 to 
2007  with  the  commitments  distributed  in  a  balanced  manner  between  the 
environment and transport sectors. 

Table 2: Projects approved in Croatia in 2005-2007 – in Euro 

Project 
decisions 

Sector 

Eligible cost 

ISPA 
contribution 

Average 
grant rate 

Commitments 

Environment 

Transport 

Horizontal TA 

Total 

n° 

3 

2 

1 

6 

46,287,701 

29,466,355 

76,502,738 

29,271,310 

262,335 

262,335 

% 

63.65 

38.26 

100 

29,466,355 

29,271,310 

262,335 

123,052,774 

59,000,000 

47.94 

59,000,000 

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4. 

PAYMENTS 

Generally, payments for each project consist of two advance payments totalling 20% 
of the ISPA contribution, as well of intermediate payments (i.e. reimbursements) of 
up to 90% of the contribution, as well as a final 10% payment after closure. For the 
ISPA  projects  approved  in  Croatia,  almost  no  payments  were  made  in  2007.  Just 
€124,629, representing 0.21% of the corresponding ISPA grants, was paid out. 

Slow progress was made in 2007 in implementing ISPA measures. This was reflected 
by  the  lack  of  requests  received  for  second  advance  and  intermediate  payments. 
Consequently  by  the  end  of  the  period  2005-2007,  a  total  of  €6,195,706  had  been 
paid  out,  representing  10.5%  of  the  budgetary  commitments  implemented  in  that 
period (€59 million).  

Table 3: Payments – in Euro 

Sector 
Environment 

Transport 

TA 

Total 

2005-2006
3,043,266 

2,975,344 

52,467 

6,071,077 

2007
0 

0 

124,629 

124,629 

Total 2005-2007 
3,043,266 

2,975,344 

177,096 

6,195,706 

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5. 

SUMMARY TABLES 

Table  4  presented  below  provides  an  overview  of  the  ISPA  interventions  for 
the year 2007 and for the period 2005-2007.  

Table 4: Projects decided in Croatia in 2005-2007 – in Euro 

Sub-sector 

N° of 
projects 

Eligible 
cost 

ISPA 
contribution

2007

2005 – 2007

Commitments Payments Commitments Payments

Water and 
sewerage 

Water and wastewater 
incl. treatment 

Wastewater treatment 
plant 

Solid waste 

Air quality 

Horizontal 

Sector total 

Road 

Rail 

Road and rail 

Inland waterways 

Airports 

Horizontal 

Sector total 

TA 

TOTAL 

Environment

0

0

36,000,000

22,500,000

0

0

8,823,601

6,000,049

0

0

1,464,100

966,306

46,287,701

29,466,355

Transport 

0

0

75,761,000

28,789,180

0

0 

0

0

 0

0

741,738

482,130

76,502,738

29,271,310

Horizontal 

262,335

262,335

123,052,774

59,000,000

0 

1 

0 

1 

0 

1 

3 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

2 

1 

6

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

 0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0 

0

22,500,000  2,250,000

0 

0

6,000,049  600,005

0 

0

966,306  193,261

29,466,355  3,043,266

0 

0

28,789,180  2,878,918

0 

0 

0 

0

0

0

482,130 

96,426

29,271,310  2,975,344

124,629

262,335  177,096

124,629

59,000,000  6,195,706

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Technical assistance 

6. 

FORMS AND DELIVERY OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 

The  recourse  to  technical  assistance  measures  constitutes  an  essential  element  for 
ensuring  the  successful  programming  and  implementation  of  ISPA  projects.  These 
measures  focus  on  project  preparation,  project  implementation,  accompanying 
institutional  strengthening,  and,  more  recently,  on  the  structural  (re)organisation  of 
certain  utilities,  thereby  enhancing  the  sustainability  of  project  implementation.  In 
addition,  by  assisting  in  institutional  strengthening  and  the  enhancement  of 
administrative  capacity,  ISPA  contributes  to  the  preparation  of  the  beneficiary 
countries  for  implementing  the  instruments  of  cohesion  policy,  in  particular  the 
Cohesion Fund.  

Two types of TA activities can be distinguished:  

- technical assistance which is carried out on the initiative of the beneficiary country 
and  which 
i.e.  project 
related 
(EDIS)  and  enhancing 
identification/preparation,  extended  decentralisation 
administrative capacity; 

is  mostly  directly 

to  project 

funding, 

-  technical  assistance  which  is  carried  out  on  the  initiative  of  the  Commission  and 
which is mostly let via framework contracts. This assistance is directed mainly to the 
appraisal, supervision and monitoring of projects. 

For  the  activities  of  the  first  category,  the  ceilings  for  the  ISPA  contribution  are 
usually those applicable to project funding, but may in certain cases be as much as 
100%. However, the costs of the activities of the second category are always entirely 
borne by ISPA, but the aggregate cost of them may not exceed 2% of the total ISPA 
allocation to the beneficiary country.  

Since  the  beginning  of  ISPA,  technical  assistance  activities  on  the  initiative  or  on 
behalf  of  the  Commission  have  been  concentrated  on  enhancing  the  beneficiary 
countries’ capacity to prepare, appraise and implement ISPA projects in accordance 
with the standards required for the management of Community funds, as well as for 
to allow the EC Delegation to perform its ex-ante control functions (intra- and extra 
muros  staff).  From  the  beginning  of  2007  all  new  technical  assistance  measures  of 
this type will be financed from IPA. 

7. 

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON THE INITIATIVE OF THE BENEFICIARY COUNTRY 

Project preparation and institutional strengthening 

TA measures for project preparation have to ensure that, in terms of project concept, 
management and operation, beneficiary countries present technically and financially 
sound projects to the Commission for ISPA funding. Where required, these measures 
can include the elaboration of strategic studies concerning the (sub-) sectors eligible 
for  ISPA  funding.  Moreover,  they  are  aimed  at  developing  a  pipeline  of  quality 
projects  which  is  a  warrant  for  the  Commission  that  it  identifies  and  receives  a 

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sufficient number of suitable projects in time. Disposing of a strong project pipeline 
will  be  essential  for  the  successful  implementation  of  IPA.  Two  of  the  3  TA 
measures being currently implemented are aimed at preparing IPA project pipelines 
in  the  environment  and  transportation  sectors.  The  third  measure  is  aimed  at 
developing  the  institutional  capacity  of  the  CFCU  to  manage  and  implement  the 
ISPA projects. 

The total number of TA measures for project preparation approved since 2005 stands 
at  2,  representing  a  total  eligible  cost  of  €2,205,838  of  which  €1,448,436  (65.6%) 
was  financed  by  ISPA.  The  total  number  of  TA  measures  for  institutional  capacity 
building  approved  since  2005  is  1,  representing  a  total  eligible  cost  of  €262,335 
which is 100% financed by ISPA. 

Table 5: Technical assistance measures on the initiative of Croatia  
2005-2007 – in Euro 

Sub-sector 

No of 
projects 

Eligible 
cost 

ISPA 
contribution

Commitments 
2007 

Payments 
2007 

Commitments 
2005-7 

Payments 
2005-7 

Environment 

Sector total 

1 

1,464,100 

966,306 

0 

Sector total 

1 

741,738 

482,130 

0 

Horizontal TA 

Transport 

0 

0 

966,306 

193,261 

482,130 

96,426 

Sector Total 

TOTAL 

1 

3 

262,335 

262,335 

2,468,173 

1,710,771 

0 

0 

124,629 

262,335 

177,096 

124,629 

1,710,771 

466,783 

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Management and implementation  

8. 

IMPLEMENTATION 

The  first  two  ISPA  projects  in  Croatia  were  approved  in  December  2005  with  a 
further 4 being approved in July and September 2006. By the end of 2007 physical 
implementation had commenced on only one of these projects (2005HR16PPT001). 
Despite this some progress was made with regard to the first 2 projects approved in 
2005 with 3 works tenders being announced by the end of the year. In addition the 
tenders  for  a  further  5  service  contracts  were  announced,  as  well  those  for  4 
Framework Contracts. By the end of the year the 4 Framework Contracts had been 
signed and work on these had commenced. It should also be noted that all the tenders 
(2 works and 1 service) for one infrastructure project (2005HR16PPT001) had been 
announced by the end of 2007.  

There  are  a  number  of  reasons  for  the  slow  speed  of  project  implementation  in 
Croatia.  Above  all  the  Implementing  Agency  has  suffered  from  a  lack  of  suitably 
experienced  staff  and  poor  management.  In  addition  the  Agency  was  reorganised 
during  the  year  and  the  new  structure  has  not  been  fully  staffed  as  yet.  Further 
problems result from the lack of experience of the final beneficiaries in preparing and 
running  international  tenders,  a  lack  of  suitable  staff  and  unfamiliarity  with  ISPA 
procedures. Another issue that has affected the speed of project implementation has 
been  the  excessively  bureaucratic  procedures  established  by  the  Croats  to  manage 
and  monitor  the  project  implementation  process.  The  Commission  on  a  number  of 
occasions  has  suggested  that  these  procedures  be  streamlined.  At  the  moment  of 
writing no projects are in jeopardy of not meeting the N+2 rule.1 

9. 

PROJECT MONITORING 

Overall  monitoring  and  evaluation  of  the  progress  and  effectiveness  of  the 
implementation  is  supported  by  regular  meetings  in  the  EC  Delegation  offices, 
monitoring reports by the implementing bodies, site visits by Commission staff and 
formal monitoring through the twice yearly ISPA Monitoring Committee meetings in 
Croatia.  

Apart from exerting the Commission powers for endorsing tendering and contracting, 
the  EC  Delegation  is  best  placed  to  ensure  progress  on  the  ground  and  liaise  with 
national authorities and final beneficiaries on any problem that may arise. 

Two  ISPA  Monitoring  Committees  were  held  in  Croatia  in  2007;  in  June  and 
December  respectively.  The  main  points  emerging  from  the  meetings  were  the 
necessity to accelerate the tendering and contracting processes and to ensure that the 
technical  assistance  contracts  for  the  preparation  of  future  project  pipelines  were 

1 

The N+2 rule refers to the requirement that the tender for the main works or supply contract within a 
measure  must  be  launched  within  2  years  of  the  signature  of  the  corresponding  Financing 
Memorandum. In the case of a measure exclusively consisting of service contracts N+2 relates to the 
signature of  the  main  service  contract within  2  years of  the  signature of the  corresponding  Financing 
Memorandum. 

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contracted out as soon as possible in order to prevent later problems with IPA fund 
absorption.  Furthermore  the  Commission  stressed  the  need  to  utilise  as  quickly  as 
possible the ISPA funded technical assistance measures available for the provision of 
technical  and  administrative  support  to  the  implementing  agency  and  the  relevant 
line ministries. 

Whilst  slow  physical  implementation  of  the  projects  was  acknowledged  the 
Committee  did  note  that  a  number  of  tenders  had  been  launched  by  the  end  of  the 
year and, on the basis of this, that there should be a significant increase in payments 
in 2008. 

10. 

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL, INCLUDING EDIS 

The  principal  requirements  for  both  the  financial  management  and  control  and  the 
treatment of irregularities are governed by the provisions of the ISPA Regulation and 
of Annex III of the Financing Memoranda, as applicable under the regime of ex ante 
control by the Commission. These requirements are close to those applicable to the 
Cohesion  Fund  and  the  Structural  Funds.  The  key  elements  relate  to  the 
establishment  of  internal  financial  control  systems  and  procedures  that  can  ensure 
transparent and non-discriminatory procurement procedures, the accuracy of declared 
expenditure, adequate internal audit capability, sufficient audit trail and appropriate 
treatment of irregularities. 

Due  to  the  slow  progress  in  ISPA  project  implementation  it  was  decided  that  no 
specific ISPA audits would be carried out in 2007 for Croatia. However, an advisory 
audit  was  carried  out  by  DG  Regional  Policy's  Control  and  Audit  Unit  on  the 
National  Fund  and  Implementing  Agency  (CFCU)  in  April  2007  as  a  follow-up  to 
the  previous  ISPA  DIS  (Decentralised  Implementation  System)  accreditation 
mission.  The  overall  conclusions  of  the  mission  for  the  part  relating  to  ISPA 
concerned the high turnover of staff in the CFCU, and subsequently ways to ensure 
staff  retention  as  well  as  insufficient  level  of  checking  of  documents  within  the 
CFCU prior to being submitted to the EC Delegation for endorsement.  

DIS 

The  requirement  for  the  DIS  accreditation  of  the  ISPA  Implementing  Agency  in 
Croatia,  the  CFCU  (now  transformed  into  the  CFCA),  follows  the  stipulations  of 
Article  164  of  the  Financial  Regulation.  DIS  accreditation  was  awarded  by  the 
Commission on 13 February 2006.  

EDIS 

Until  EDIS  (Extended  Decentralised  Implementation  System  –  requiring  ex-post 
control  only)  is  granted,  the  staff  of  the  EC  Delegation  in  Croatia  will  continue  to 
carry  out  ex-ante  controls  and  play  an  important  role  in  supervising  the  daily 
management, implementation and monitoring of ISPA measures. Currently the aim is 
to achieve EDIS for Croatia by the end of the second half of 2009. To a large extent 
preparations for the move to EDIS will depend on an improvement in the function of 
the existing DIS structure. 

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11. 

RISK ASSESSMENT 

The audit strategy planned for 2007 and subsequent years was based on the results of 
an  analysis  of  the  state  of  ISPA  implementation  and  the  related  objectives  of  the 
Audit Directorate of DG Regional Policy. The audit strategy sets out the objectives 
which  are  defined  by  the  senior  management  of  DG  Regional  Policy.  These 
objectives  are  defined  on  the  basis  of  detailed  discussions  with  the  operational 
directorates during which information on potential risk is shared. The audit strategy 
then  sets  out  the  actions  to  achieve  the  objectives,  taking  account  of  the  risks 
identified.  In  general,  risk  is  minimized  by  implementing  this  strategy.  No  audits 
were carried out in 2007 due to the limited progress in implementation. 

Under  the  system  of  ex  ante  approval,  priority  is  given  to  ensuring  that  sufficient 
control procedures are put in place regarding project implementation and payments. 
However, the management of pre-accession funds carries an inherent risk since the 
funds  are  delivered  by  a  variety  of  organisations  and  systems.  Eligibility  of 
expenditure  is  determined  by  compliance  with  rules  and  conditions  fixed  at 
Community  and  national  level  which  can  lead  to  complexity  and  risk  of 
misinterpretation. The Croatian authorities are planning to submit the application to 
waive ex-ante control during the second half of 2009 for ISPA projects in accordance 
with the provisions of Regulation 1266/1999. 

12. 

EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS FINDINGS 

No missions or audits were carried out in Croatia during 2007.  

13. 

CO-FINANCING PARTNERS – EIB, EBRD AND KFW 

Given their expertise in project preparation and implementation, the Commission has 
maintained regular contact with these lending institutions, both at a horizontal level 
to  co-ordinate  policy  and  methodological  issues  related  to  programming  and 
implementation,  and  at  country  level.  The  specialist  skills  of  these  Banks  in 
structuring grant/loan combinations of funding, including public-private partnership 
arrangements,  is  highly  useful  for  improving  the  quality  of  projects  funded  from 
ISPA. Nevertheless the EIB is not involved in any ISPA project in Croatia with the 
EBRD being the only IFI which is actively involved in an ISPA project in Croatia. 
One  environmental  project  approved  in  2005  is  co-financed  by  a  loan  from  the 
EBRD – the Karlovac Water and Wastewater Treatment Programme. 

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Contribution to Community policies 

14. 

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT 

From  the  start  of  ISPA,  the  fulfilment  of  legal  requirements  for  sound,  fair  and 
transparent public procurement as enshrined in the PRAG has proved to be a major 
challenge. In many cases, ensuring compliance with EU procurement principles has 
lead  to  delays  in  the  implementation  of  ISPA  projects.  The  Commission  services  -
especially  the  EC  Delegation  in  Zagreb  -  had  to  intervene  frequently,  not  only  to 
check that procedures were correctly applied but also to rectify errors, to liaise with 
dissatisfied bidders, and to explain to the implementing agency how the procedures 
concerned  should  be  implemented.  Regularly,  the  quality  of  the  tender  documents 
needed  to  be  improved  resulting  in  the  very  late  announcement  of  tenders.  The 
cumulative effect of these interventions was additional delays to the implementation 
process. 

The  ex  ante  approval  by  the  Commission  which  governs  the  tendering  and 
contracting of ISPA projects  is therefore entirely justified until the  conditions exist 
for EDIS to be granted (see above). Under the ex-ante system of approval and in line 
with the DIS decision for the conferral of management, only the CFCA plays the role 
of  the  contracting  authority  responsible  for  project  implementation,  whereas  the 
Commission endorses each step of the procurement process. It follows that, although 
the  Commission  is  not  a  contracting  partner,  it  bears  shared  responsibility  for  the 
procedural  correctness  of  the  procurement  process  (without  the  Commission’s 
approval, contracts concluded between beneficiaries and contractors are not valid).  

15. 

COMPETITION POLICY 

As  the  ISPA  assistance  is  directed  primarily  to  cover  public  expenditure  -or 
equivalent  -  concerning  utility  projects,  this  does  not  generally  raise  problems  of 
incompatibility with the Community rules on competition. Unless the rules on public 
procurement  are  infringed,  and  provided  free  access  to  such  infrastructure  is 
guaranteed  for  all  operators  meeting  the  necessary  technical  and  legal  conditions, 
such assistance does not confer any special advantage to specific firms.  

16. 

ENVIRONMENT POLICY 

By  providing  direct  assistance  to  priority  projects  for  the  environment,  ISPA  also 
contributes  to  the  implementation  of  environmental  policy  and  to  the  compliance 
with  EU  standards  in  Croatia.  Experience  gained  through  project  development  and 
implementation develops administrative capacity and accelerates sector reform in the 
environment sector. In particular, administrative capacity is being strengthened with 
regard  to  environmental  investment  planning  and  prioritisation.  Continued  and 
increased  efforts  are  needed  concerning  the  implementation  of  EIA-related 
legislation,  especially  relating  to  public  consultation  aspects.  It  is  hoped  that  ISPA 
will  in  these  ways  contribute  towards  progress  in  environmental  protection  in 
Croatia. Problems exist in relation to the difficulties of environmental authorities in 
obtaining adequate funding and staffing with the high turnover of staff cancelling out 
of any benefits received through training and gained experience.  

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In  this  respect,  it  is  important  to  emphasise  that,  as  far  as  Croatia  is  concerned,  in 
view  of  the  introduction  of  IPA,  with  its  greater  number  of  bodies  and  a  stream  of 
additional  projects,  the  provision  of  sufficient  financial  and  human  resources  for 
implementation  (including  monitoring,  inspection,  the  provision  of  permits  and 
reporting) needs to be ensured. 

17. 

TRANSPORT POLICY  

The  transport  networks  in  Croatia,  agreed  in  accordance  with  TINA  (Transport 
Infrastructure  Needs  Assessment)  and  REBIS  (Regional  Balkans  Infrastructure 
Study) were constructed around the framework of pan-European corridors. Several of 
them run across the territory of Croatia including Corridors VII (the Danube river), X 
(Salzburg-Ljubljana-Zagreb-Beograd-Nis-Skopje-Veles-Thessaloniki, 
including 
branch Xa) as well as Corridor V, which has two branches in Croatia (Vb - Budapest, 
Zagreb  Rijeka,  and  Vc  -  Budapest,  Sarajevo,  Ploče).  These  networks  were  used  as 
the  planning  basis  for  the  national  transport  strategies  for  ISPA  purposes.  As  a 
consequence  the  single  ISPA  transport  project  forms  part  of  the  TINA  and  REBIS 
networks, i.e. it concerns the construction or rehabilitation of a section, nodal point 
or  access  relating  to  the  networks.  The  TEN-T  networks  for  Croatia  are  based  on 
SEETO (South East Europe Transport Observatory) recommendations. 

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Co-ordination among pre-accession instruments 

As  required  by  the  Coordination  Regulation2,  the  Commission  ensures  close  co-
ordination among the three pre-accession instruments, PHARE, SAPARD and ISPA. 
In line with the provisions of this Regulation, the PHARE Management Committee 
plays a special role in general co-ordination of the three pre-accession instruments. 

Co-ordination with the (PHARE) Joint Monitoring Committee 

The Joint Monitoring  Committee is responsible for co-ordinating the monitoring of 
each  pre-accession  instrument  and  for  assessing  the  overall  progress  of  EU–funded 
assistance  in  the  beneficiary  countries.  The  Committee  issues  recommendations  to 
the ISPA Committee or to the Commission when relevant. 

Co-ordination with EC Delegations 

Periodic  meetings  were  organised  by  the  Commission  services  (DGs  Enlargement, 
External  Relations  and  Regional  Policy)  with  the  experts  in  the  Delegations 
responsible  for  PHARE  and  ISPA  to  discuss  programming  and  implementation 
issues, in particular those related to tendering and contracting. 

Co-ordination with the IPA instrument 

In  order  to  ensure  the  efficient  coordination  of  activities  and  the  prevention  of 
duplication  the  two  ISPA  Monitoring  Committees  held  in  Croatia  in  2007  were 
organised  alongside  the  IPA  Sectoral  Monitoring  Committees  for  the  Regional 
Development  component.  In  addition  it  should  be  noted  that  2  of  the  technical 
assistance  measures  being  funded  through  ISPA  relate  to  the  preparation  of  project 
pipelines for implementation using IPA co-finance. In this way it is hoped that there 
will  be  a  smooth  transition  from  the  ISPA  to  the  IPA  instruments  and  the 
uninterrupted implementation of measures in the respective sectors. 

18. 

PUBLICITY ACTIONS 

No  publicity  actions  were  taken  in  2007  with  regard  to  the  ISPA  projects  as  no 
project had reached the physical implementation stage. However, a signing ceremony 
is  planned  to  be  held  for  the  signature  of  the  first  works  contract  (concerning  the 
project: Vinkovci to Tovarnik Railway Rehabilitation) in 2008. The relevant media 
will be invited to attend. 

2 

Council Regulation (EC) N° 1266/1999 of 21 June 1999 on co-ordinating aid to the applicant countries 
in the framework of the pre-accession strategy. 

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