Report from the Commission - Annual Report of the Instrument for Structural Policy for Pre-Accession (ISPA) 2008 [SEC(2009)1443]
Date: 2009-10-29
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: activity report, pre-accession aid, pre-accession strategy

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 29.10.2009 
COM(2009) 590 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE INSTRUMENT FOR STRUCTURAL POLICY FOR 
PRE-ACCESSION (ISPA) 2008 

[SEC(2009)1443] 

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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. 

19. 

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

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

Projects funded between 2005-2008 ............................................................................ 5 

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

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

Forms and methods of providing technical assistance................................................. 8 

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

Technical assistance on the initiative of the Commission ........................................... 9 

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

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

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

Risk assessment.......................................................................................................... 11 

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,  the  country  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.  The  accession  of  these  two 
countries  left  Croatia  as  the  only  remaining  recipient  of  ISPA  funding.  This  report 
therefore only covers the ISPA activities carried out by Croatia.  

The  year  2008  witnessed  a  significant  improvement  in  the  pace  of  project 
implementation  in  Croatia  with  several  major  contracts  being  signed,  physical 
implementation commencing and the first interim payments being made. Tendering 
and  contracting  is  still  slower  than  desirable,  reflects  continuing  poor  management 
and  coordination,  as  well  as  a  shortage  of  suitable  staff.  Despite  the  problems 
however, steady progress was made during the year. At the start of 2008 11 out of a 
total of 24 tenders foreseen for all projects had been either commenced or concluded 
with 3 works contracts having been signed and under implementation. By the end of 
2008 however, the  number  of tenders  either launched or concluded had risen to  18 
with  a  total  of  13  contracts  having  been  signed  and  implementation  ongoing. 
Furthermore it needs to be noted that tendering and contracting was completed for 3 
out of the 6 ISPA projects. 

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) does not seem to have had the immediate effect that was anticipated. Despite 
the  fact  that  salary  levels  in  the  new  agency  are  higher  than  in  other  government 
institutions the CFCA has still had trouble both recruiting suitable staff and retaining 
them.  In  an  attempt  to  improve  the  situation  additional  recruitment  efforts  were 
intensified and further training of staff took place with the assistance of the European 
Commission (EC) Delegation.  

Another  contributory  factor  affecting  the  progress  of  ISPA  project  implementation 
has  been  the  preparations  for  the  introduction  of  the  Instrument  for  Pre-Accession 
Assistance  (IPA). It  has  to  be acknowledged that these preparations to some extent 
diverted the attention of some of the key bodies involved in implementing the ISPA 
projects due to the necessity to reorganise their staff and to obtain accreditation for 
the management of IPA funds.  

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. This ended in 2006. The second budget line 
encompasses  payment 
effective 
implementation and operation of ISPA for Croatia.  

appropriations  made 

available 

the 

for 

Budget line B13.05.01.01, amounting to €7,888,041.30 in 2008, covers all expenses 
for co-financing infrastructure projects (measures). 

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Table 1: ISPA budget in 2008 – in Euro  

Budget line 

Payments 
implemented 

Functional budget line B13.01.04.02 (closed in 2006) 

0 

Operational budget line B13.05.01.01 

Total 

7,888,041.30 

7,888,041.30 

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Project funding 

1. 

NEW ISPA PROJECTS  

No new ISPA projects were adopted in 2008. 

2. 

NEW COMMITMENTS 

No new commitments were made in  2008 for projects either  in the environment or 
transport sectors since the ISPA instrument ended in 2006. 

3. 

PROJECTS FUNDED BETWEEN 2005-2008 

Between 2005 and 2006, 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.  By  the  end  of  2006,  the 
Commission had committed 100% of the ISPA funds set aside for Croatia covering 
the  period  2005  to  2006  with  the  commitments  distributed  in  a  balanced  manner 
between the environment and transport sectors. 

Table 2: Projects approved in Croatia in 2005-20061 – in Euro 

Sector 

Project 
decisions 

Environment 

Transport 

Horizontal TA 

Total 

n° 

3 

2 

1 

6 

Eligible cost 

ISPA 
contribution 

46,287,701 

29,466,355 

76,502,738 

29,271,310 

262,335 

262,335 

Average 
grant rate 

Commitments 

% 

63.65 

38.26 

100 

29,466,355 

29,271,310 

262,335 

123,052,774 

59,000,000 

47.94 

59,000,000 

1 

No projects have been approved since 2006 due to the ending in that year of the ISPA programme. 

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4. 

PAYMENTS 

Generally,  payments  for  each  investment  project  consist  of  two  advance  payments 
totalling  20%  of  the  ISPA  contribution,  as  well  of  intermediate  payments  (i.e. 
reimbursements)  of  up  to  80%  (and  in  exceptional  cases  up  to  90%)  of  the 
contribution, as well as payment of the final balance after closure. A total of €7.88 
million in payments were made in 2008 for the ISPA projects approved in Croatia, 
representing 13.3% of the corresponding ISPA grants. This contrasts starkly with the 
equivalent figure the previous year of just €124,629. 

Thus,  better  progress  was  made  in  2008  in  implementing  ISPA  measures.  This  is 
reflected by the increase in the number of requests received for second advance and 
intermediate payments. Intermediate payments are of particular significance as they 
result  from  actual  project  implementation  (i.e.  the  payment  of  invoices)  rather  than 
the transfer of advance payments, which had mostly been the case up until 2008. By 
the  end  of  the  period  2005-2008,  a  total  of  €14,083,747.30  had  been  paid  out  to 
Croatia,  representing  28.87%  of  the  budgetary  commitments  implemented  in  that 
period (€59 million) and over double the amount paid out up until the end of 2007. 

Table 3: Payments – in Euro 

Sector 
Environment 

Transport 

TA 

Total 

2005-2007
3,043,266 

2,975,344 

177,096 

6,195,706 

2008
2,443,261.00 

5,412,008.30 

32,772.00 

Total 2005-2008 
5,486,527.00 

8,387,352.30 

209,868.00 

7,888,041.30 

14,083,747.30 

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5. 

SUMMARY TABLES 

Table  4  presented  below  provides  an  overview  of  the  ISPA  interventions  for  both 
the year 2008 and for the period 2005-2008.  

Table 4: Projects decided in Croatia in 2005-2008 – in Euro 

Sub-sector 

N° of 
projects 

Eligible 
cost 

ISPA 
contribution

2008

2005 – 2008

Commitment Payments Commitment Payments

Water 

Water & wastewater 

Wastewater 

Solid waste 

Air quality 

Horizontal 

Sector total 

Road 

Rail 

Road and rail 

Inland waterways 

Airports 

Horizontal 

Sector total 

TA 

TOTAL 

0

1

0

1

0

1

3

0

1

0

0

0

1

2

1

6

Environment

0

0

36,000,000

22,500,000

0

0

8,823,601

6,000,049

0

0

1,464,100

966,306

0

0

0

0

0

0

0 

0 

0

2,250,000 

22,500,000 

4,500,000

0 

0 

0 

0 

6,000,049 

600,005

0 

193,261 

966,306 

386,522

46,287,701

29,466,355

0 2,443,261.0

29,466,355 

5,486,527

Transport 

0

0

0

0 

0 

75,761,000

28,789,180

0 5,412,008.3 

28,789,180  8,290,926.3

0

0 

0

0

0

0

741,738

482,130

0

0

0

0

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

482,130 

96,426,00

76,502,738

29,271,310

0 5,412,008.3 

29,271,310  8,387,352.3

Horizontal 

262,335

262,335

0

32,772 

262,335 

209,868

123,052,774

59,000,000

0 7,888,041.3 

59,000,000  14,083,747.3

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Technical assistance 

6. 

FORMS AND METHODS OF PROVIDING 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  and  project  implementation  alongside  the 
close  involvement  of  the  beneficiary  thereby  applying  the  "learning  by  doing" 
principle.  In  addition,  by  accompanying  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 in this case, the Cohesion Fund.  

Two types of technical assistance measures are utilised 

- technical assistance which is carried out on the initiative of the beneficiary country 
and which is directly related to project funding, e.g. project preparation/development, 
technical  assistance  for  implementation,  and  technical  assistance  for  enhancing 
administrative capacity; 

-  technical  assistance  which  is  carried  out  on  the  initiative  of  the  Commission  and 
which mostly relates to activities performed by the EC Delegation, including project 
appraisal; 

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  usually  aimed  at  developing  a  pipeline  of 
quality projects by providing a sufficient number of suitable projects in time in order 
to enable the beneficiary country to fully commit and absorb the available funds. The 
disposing  of  a  strong  project  pipeline  is  also  essential  for  the  successful 
implementation of IPA. In this respect two of the three technical assistance 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 CFCA to manage and implement the ISPA projects. 

The  total  number  of  TA  measures  for  project  preparation  approved  between  2005 
and  2006  stands  at  2,  representing  a  total  eligible  cost  of  €2,205,838  of  which 
€1,448,436 (65.6%) is being financed by ISPA. One technical assistance measure for 
institutional capacity building was approved between 2005 and 2006, representing a 
total eligible cost of €262,335 which is 100% financed by ISPA. 

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Table 5: Technical assistance measures on the initiative of Croatia  
2005-2008 – in Euro 

Sub-sector 

No of 
projects 

Eligible 
cost 

ISPA 
contribution

Commitments 
2008 

Payments 
2008 

Commitments 
2005-8 

Payments 
2005-8 

Environment 

Sector total 

1 

1,464,100 

966,306 

0 

193,262.00 

966,306 

386,522.00 

Transport 

Sector total 

1 

741,738 

482,130 

0 

0 

482,130 

96,426.00 

Horizontal TA 

Sector Total 

TOTAL 

1 

3 

262,335 

262,335 

2,468,173 

1,710,771 

0 

0 

32,772.00 

262,335 

209,868.00 

226,034.00 

1,710,771 

692,816.00 

8. 

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON THE INITIATIVE OF THE COMMISSION  

Since  the  beginning  of  ISPA,  technical  assistance  activities  carried  out  on  the 
initiative, or  on  behalf of the Commission, have been concentrated on enabling  the 
EC Delegation to perform its ex-ante control procedures (including project appraisal) 
in accordance with the standards required for the management of Community funds. 
No  such  technical  assistance  measures  have  been  funded  by  ISPA  since  2006.  All 
such technical assistance measures since that time have been financed from IPA. 

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Management and implementation  

9. 

IMPLEMENTATION 

The first two projects in Croatia were approved in December 2005 with a final four 
being  approved  in  July  and  September  2006.  By  the  end  of  2008  physical 
implementation had commenced on 4 out of the 6 ISPA projects including 2 out of 
the  3  infrastructure  projects.  In  addition  tenders  were  in  progress  for  a  further  5 
contracts including the final 2 projects which as yet have no contracts concluded.  

The speed of tendering out individual contracts remained erratic. In one instance the 
signature of the main works contract for a project had to be put back due to delays in 
concluding  the  corresponding  supervision  contract.  With  other  tenders  there  have 
been  delays  due  to  the  necessity  to  resubmit  evaluation  reports  and  to  issue 
corrigenda  to  the  tender  documents.  On  another  instance  a  tender  was  severely 
delayed due to a lack of suitable bids. These latter problems however, are typical for 
any  tendering  processes  and  reflect  the  still  relative  inexperience  of  the  CFCA  in 
project implementation and therefore too much significance should not be attributed 
to  them.  Clearly  the  most  significant  fact  to  note  is  that  now  most  of  the  projects 
have entered the implementation stage which represents a significant milestone in the 
implementation of ISPA in Croatia. 

From the start of 2008 the ISPA implementing agency in Croatia continued to suffer 
from  a  lack  of  suitably  experienced  staff  and  poor  management.  Problems  also 
continue  to  be  experienced  as  a  result  of  the  lack  of  experience  of  the  final 
beneficiaries  in  preparing  and  running  international  tenders.  To  their  credit  the 
Croatian  authorities  have  tried  to  address  these  problems  by  replacing  staff  as 
necessary and intensifying training activities for final beneficiaries.  

10. 

PROJECT MONITORING 

the  progress  and  effectiveness  of 
Overall  monitoring  and  evaluation  of 
implementation  is  supported  by  regular  meetings  in  the  EC  Delegation  offices, 
monitoring reports submitted by the implementing bodies, site visits by Commission 
staff  and  formal  monitoring  through  the  twice  yearly  ISPA  Monitoring  Committee 
meetings in Croatia, as well as the receipt of Annual ISPA Reports for each project 
from the implementing authority.  

Until  the  management  of  ISPA  funds  is  fully  decentralised  (using  the  Extended 
Decentralised management Implementation System – EDIS with only ex-post control 
by the Commission), the staff of the EC Delegation in Croatia will continue to play 
an  important  role  in  supervising  the  daily  management,  implementation  and 
monitoring  of  ISPA  measures.  Due  to  the  inconsistent  and  continuing  unreliable 
management  of  ISPA  measures  by  the  Croatian  authorities  it  is  felt  that  the 
continuation of ex-ante controls for tendering and contracting will be necessary for 
the immediate future. The preparations for the move to EDIS will be dependent on an 
the  current  Decentralised  management 
improvement 
Implementation System (DIS) structure with ex-ante controls by the EC Delegation. 
In this context it is not anticipated that EDIS will be achieved for Croatia before the 
second half of 2010.  

the  functioning  of 

in 

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Two  ISPA  Monitoring  Committees  were  held  in  Croatia  in  2008;  in  June  and 
November  respectively.  The  main  points  to  emerge  from  the  meetings  were:  a 
significant  improvement  in  contracting  out  the  projects  and  in  the  amount  of 
payments  being  made;  the  necessity  to  extend  the  N+2  rule  for  one  project  due  to 
complications  in  the  tendering  process  which  were  outside  the  control  of  the 
Contracting  Authority;  the  fact  that  all  the  Article  8  conditions  contained  in  the 
Financing  Memoranda  for  all  ISPA  projects  had  been  fulfilled;  the  necessity  to 
submit  modification  requests  for  two  Financing  Memoranda;  the  necessity  to 
improve the quality of the data contained in the ISPA monitoring reports, as well as 
their presentation; the necessity to tender out the remaining infrastructure contracts in 
order  to  ensure  all  the  works  are  carried  out  within  the  eligibility  periods  of  the 
respective  financing  memoranda.  It  has  to  be  noted  that  a  number  of  unexpected 
setbacks  were  experienced  during  the  tendering  process  creating  particular 
difficulties  with  two  of  the  infrastructure  projects.  However,  in  contrast  the  largest 
ISPA project is now fully contracted out and implementation of the works is steadily 
advancing.  

11. 

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 Memorandum, 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 
ISPA audits would be carried out in Croatia during 2008. The main emphasis for the 
audit  unit  in  the  Directorate  General  for  Regional  Policy  for  2008  related  to  the 
preparations for the introduction of IPA in Croatia. Nevertheless, an internal audit of 
the EC Delegation in Zagreb did take place. The main conclusion of this audit was 
that ISPA projects were being managed effectively by the Delegation. Furthermore it 
was  recommended  that  the  EC  Delegation  apply  more  pressure  to  the  Croatian 
authorities to speed up project implementation, as well as provide additional training 
to the implementing body in relation to quality control. One other observation related 
to  the  difficulty  the  EC  Delegation  had  experienced  in  securing  suitable  staff.  This 
resulted  from  the  lengthy,  inflexible  and  restrictive  recruitment  procedures  that  the 
EC Delegation is obliged to use.  

DIS 

The requirement for the DIS accreditation of the implementing agency in Croatia, the 
CFCA,  follows  the  stipulations  of  Article  164  of  the  Financial  Regulation.  DIS 
accreditation was awarded by the Commission on 13th February 2006.  

12. 

RISK ASSESSMENT 

The  audit  strategy  planned  for  2008  and  subsequent  years  has  been  based  on  the 
results of an analysis of the state of ISPA implementation and the related objectives 

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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 2008 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. Currently the Croatian authorities plan to submit an application for 
the waiving of ex-ante controls during the second half of 2010 for ISPA projects in 
accordance with the provisions of Regulation 1266/1999. 

13. 

EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS FINDINGS 

No missions or audits were carried out in Croatia during 2008.  

14. 

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.  

The EBRD is the only IFI which is actively involved in an ISPA project in Croatia 
with the provision of a €10 mln. loan for an environmental project approved in 2005 
– the Karlovac Water and Wastewater Treatment Programme. 

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Contribution to Community policies 

15. 

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  or  completion  of 
tenders.  The  cumulative  effect  of  these  interventions  has  been  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).  

16. 

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.  

17. 

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. Steady progress has 
also been made in the correct implementation of the EIA directive (Council Directive 
85/337/EEC of 27th June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and 
private  projects  on  the  environment),  particularly  the  aspects  related  to  public 
consultation. It is hoped that ISPA will in these ways contribute towards progress in 
environmental protection in Croatia.  

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It is important to emphasise that, as far as Croatia is concerned, 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. 

18. 

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  strategy  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. 

EN 

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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  2008  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. 

19. 

PUBLICITY ACTIONS 

One  publicity  action  took  place  in  2008  with  regard  to  the  ISPA  projects.  A 
ceremony  was  held  at  the  Deletovci  railway station  in  Eastern  Croatia  marking  the 
commencement of construction works on the Vinkovci to Tovarnik to State Border 
Railway Rehabilitation project, being the first ISPA project to start in Croatia. The 
Croatian Ministers for Finance and Transport and the Head of the EC Delegation in 
Croatia addressed the assembled guests and media representatives. A presentation of 
the project was also made by the works Supervising Engineer. The event was highly 
successful and was widely covered in the Croatian media. 

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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