COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review Country Report - CROATIA Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review: Common Challenges and how to combine efforts to deliver better results
Date: 2017-02-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: Croatia, EU environmental policy, EU initiative, application of EU law, environmental law, environmental protection, pollution control measures

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 3.2.2017  SWD(2017) 45 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review  Country Report - CROATIA   Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review: Common Challenges and how to combine efforts to deliver better results   {COM(2017) 63 final} {SWD(2017) 33- 44 final} {SWD(2017) 46 - 60 final}  
 
 
Croatia  2 

This  report  has  been  written  by  the  staff  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Environment,  European 
Commission. Any comments are welcome to the following e-mail address: ENV-EIR@ec.europa.eu  

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Croatia  3 

Table of Content 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 4 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS ............................................................................................................................... 6 

1. 

TURNING  THE  EU  INTO  A  CIRCULAR,  RESOURCE-EFFICIENT,  GREEN  AND  COMPETITIVE  LOW-
CARBON ECONOMY ............................................................................................................................... 6 

Developing a circular economy and improving resource efficiency ..................................................... 6 
Waste management .............................................................................................................................. 8 

2. 

PROTECTING, CONSERVING AND ENHANCING NATURAL CAPITAL ..................................................... 10 

Nature and Biodiversity ....................................................................................................................... 10 
Estimating Natural Capital................................................................................................................... 11 
Green Infrastructure ........................................................................................................................... 12 
Soil protection ..................................................................................................................................... 12 
Marine protection ............................................................................................................................... 13 

3. 

ENSURING CITIZENS' HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE .......................................................................... 15 

Air quality ............................................................................................................................................ 15 
 ................................................................................................................................................. 16 
Noise 
Water quality and management ......................................................................................................... 16 
Enhancing the sustainability of cities .................................................................................................. 18 
International agreements ................................................................................................................... 18 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ..................................................................... 19 

4.  MARKET BASED INSTRUMENTS AND INVESTMENT ............................................................................ 19 

Green taxation and environmentally harmful subsidies ..................................................................... 19 
Green Public Procurement .................................................................................................................. 19 
Investments: the contribution of EU funds ......................................................................................... 20 

5. 

EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE AND KNOWLEDGE ...................................................................................... 22 

Effective governance within central, regional and local government ................................................. 22 
Compliance assurance ......................................................................................................................... 24 
Public participation and access to justice ........................................................................................... 25 
Access to information, knowledge and evidence ................................................................................ 25 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
 
 
 
Executive summary 

Croatia  4 

About the Environmental Implementation Review 

launched 

reports  describing 

the 
the  Commission 
In  May  2016, 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  (EIR),  a  two-year 
cycle  of  analysis,  dialogue  and  collaboration  to  improve 
the  implementation  of  existing  EU  environmental  policy 
and  legislation1.  As  a  first  step,  the  Commission  drafted 
28 
the  main  challenges  and 
opportunities on environmental implementation for each 
Member  State.  These  reports  are  meant  to  stimulate  a 
positive debate both on shared environmental challenges 
for  the  EU,  as  well  as  on  the  most  effective  ways  to 
address the key implementation gaps. The reports rely on 
the detailed sectoral implementation reports collected or 
issued  by  the  Commission  under  specific  environmental 
legislation  as  well  as  the  2015  State  of  the  Environment 
Report  and  other  reports  by  the  European  Environment 
Agency.  These  reports  will  not  replace  the  specific 
instruments  to  ensure  compliance  with  the  EU  legal 
obligations.  

The  reports  will  broadly  follow  the  outline  of  the  7th 
Environmental Action Programme2 and refer to the 2030 
related 
for  Sustainable  development  and 
Agenda 
Sustainable Development  Goals  (SDGs)3  to  the  extent  to 
which  they  reflect  the  existing  obligations  and  policy 
objectives of EU environmental law.  

The  main  challenges  have  been  selected  by  taking  into 
account factors such as the importance or the gravity of 
the  environmental  implementation  issue  in  the  light  of 
the  impact  on  the  quality  of  life  of  the  citizens,  the 
distance to target, and financial implications. 

The  reports  accompany  the  Communication  "The  EU 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  2016:  Common 
challenges  and  how  to  combine  efforts  to  deliver  better 
results", which identifies challenges that are common to 
several Member States, provides preliminary conclusions 
on  possible  root  causes  of  implementation  gaps  and 
proposes  joint  actions  to  deliver  better  results.  It  also 
groups in its Annex the actions proposed in each country 
report to improve implementation at national level. 

General profile 

Croatia is characterised by rich natural heritage, with an 
abundance  of  water,  remarkable  coastal  waters,  natural 
parks  and  diverse  marine  and  terrestrial  ecosystems. 
Croatia’s  economic  development  depends  largely  on 

1Communication "Delivering the benefits of EU environmental policies 

through a regular Environmental Implementation Review" 
(COM/2016/ 316 final). 

2 Decision No. 1386/2013/EU of 20 November 2013 on a General Union 
Environmental Action Programme to 2020 "Living well, within the 
limits of our planet". 

3 United Nations, 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals 

these  resources  and 
in  particular  tourism  sector. 
However,  the  expansion  of  tourism  has  undoubtedly 
both a direct and an indirect impact on the environment 
which  includes  pressure  on  biodiversity,  increase  in 
waste generation and water and energy consumption. All 
these  pressures  need  to  be  addressed  adequately. 
Sustaining  Croatia's  economic  development  depends 
essentially  on  effective  natural  resources  management, 
increased investments and ensuring compliance with the 
EU  environmental  legislation.  The  most  critical  sector 
that  needs  urgent  action  is  waste  management.  The 
transition  to a  more  circular economy  is  slow and  it  will 
require  strong  involvement  of  policy-makers,  business 
actors  and  consumers.  The  designation  of  Natura  2000 
sites and implementing conservation measures represent 
a challenge as well.  

Main Challenges 

three  main 

The 
to 
implementation  of  EU  environmental  policy  and  law  in 
Croatia are: 

challenges  with 

regard 

 

in  particular 
Improving  waste  management 
increasing  recycling  of  municipal  waste  to  meet  the 
EU  recycling  target  by  2020  and  facilitate  the 
transition to a more circular economy together with 
the  improvement  of  resource  efficiency  and  eco-
innovation.  

  Completing  the  designation  of  Natura  2000  sites 
(marine SCIs and SPAs and SACs) and ensuring their 
effective management. 

  Prioritising the implementation of projects necessary 
for  the  fulfilment  of  the  requirements  of  the 
Accession Treaty with respect to Urban Waste Water 
Treatment Directive and Drinking Water Directive. 

Main Opportunities 

Croatia  could  perform  better  on  topics  where  there  is 
already a good knowledge base and good practices. This 
applies in particular to: 

  Learning  from  the  local  examples  of  good  waste 
management  practices  and  replicating  them  in  less 
successful regions. 

  Ensuring  effective  protection  and  restoration  of 
Croatia's natural capital, especially under the Natura 
2000  network  so  as  to  maximise  potential  benefits 
deriving from ecosystem services which can serve as 
powerful  economic  drivers,  including  through  green 
tourism and other sustainable activities. 

  Turning  waste  into  resource  and  low  recycling  rates 

into business opportunities. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
 
                                                            
Croatia  5 

Points of Excellence 

There  are  several  examples  of  good  practices  of 
environmental implementation or innovative approaches 
that could serve as an example. These are: 

  Eco  Island  Krk  is  ecologically  based  system  for 
management  of  municipal  waste,  which  represents 
an integral model of waste disposal, first of its kind in 
Croatia. In 2015, the municipality has reached 50% of 
waste separation and the preparation for re-use and 
the  recycling,  therefore  already  meeting  the  2020 
target under the Waste Framework Directive. A great 
importance is given to the promotion of the system 
and education of users. 

  An EU-funded project on modernisation of the water 
and  wastewater  infrastructure  has  been  finalised  in 
Slavonski  Brod4.  Its  main  objective  was  to  ensure 
that  it  meets  European  standards,  bringing  benefits 
to  inhabitants  and  safeguarding  the  environment  of 
the River Danube Basin.  

 

In  October  2015,  Croatia  prepared  the  Green  Book: 
the  technical  basis  for  the  development  of  low 
carbon strategy for Croatia for the period until 2030 
with an outlook to 2050. This strategy sets the path 
It 
towards  a  competitive 
applies  to  all  sectors  of  the  economy  and  human 
activities,  but  it  is  especially  related  to  the  energy, 
industry,  transport,  agriculture,  forestry  and  waste 
management.  It  is  superior  to  the  sector  strategies, 
although  operationally  implemented  through  the 
individual sectors. 

low-carbon  economy. 

4http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/projects/croatia/improving-

water-supply-and-wastewater-treatment-in-slavonski-brod 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
Part I: Thematic Areas 

1. Turning the EU into a circular, resource-efficient, green and 

competitive low-carbon economy 

Croatia  6 

Developing  a  circular  economy  and  improving 
resource efficiency 

The 2015 Circular Economy Package emphasizes the need 
to  move  towards  a  lifecycle-driven  ‘circular’  economy, 
with a cascading use of resources and residual waste that 
is  close  to  zero.  This  can  be  facilitated  by  the 
development  of,  and  access  to,  innovative  financial 
instruments and funding for eco-innovation. 

SDG  8  invites  countries  to  promote  sustained,  inclusive 
and  sustainable  economic  growth,  full  and  productive 
employment  and  decent  work  for  all.  SDG  9  highlights 
infrastructure,  promote 
the  need  to  build  resilient 
inclusive  and  sustainable  industrialization  and  foster 
innovation.  SDG 12  encourages countries  to  achieve  the 
sustainable  management  and  efficient  use  of  natural 
resources by 2030. 

Measures towards a circular economy 
Transforming our economies from linear to circular offers 
the  opportunity  to  reinvent  them  and  make  them  more 
stimulate 
sustainable  and  competitive.  This  will 
investments and bring both short and long-term benefits 
for the economy, environment and citizens alike5. 
Given  the  low  resource  productivity6  and  low  recycling 
rates  in  Croatia,  promoting  a  circular  economy  and 
stimulate 
improving 
resource 
investment.  Resource  productivity 
(how 
efficiently  the  economy  uses  material  resources  to 
produce  wealth),  has  improved  slightly  over  the  last  ten 
years,  however,  it  is  still  much  below  the  EU  average, 
with  1.1  EUR/kg  (EU  average  is  2.0  EUR/kg)  in  2015  as 
shown in Figure 17.  

could 
in  Croatia 

efficiency 

Croatia’s  environmental  and  socio-economic 
issues 
indicate that Croatia is only beginning its transition from 
a  linear  to  a  circular  economy.  Six  years  period  of 
economic  recession,  a  general  lack  of  adequate  policies 
and  competences  and  a  regulatory  framework  that 
remains  only  partially  adjusted  to  EU  regulations 
contribute  to  Croatia’s  lag  in  its  transition  towards  a 
circular economy. 

Figure 1: Resource productivity 2003-158 

There exists broad based consensus that there is no long-
term  involvement  in  the  push  to  the  transition  to  a 
circular  economy  which  presents  a  great  challenge  for 
Croatian policy-makers, national and local authorities, as 
well  as  to  economic  actors,  such  as  business  and 
consumers.  Yet,  there  exists  growing  awareness  among 
that  current  circumstances  demand 
these  actors 
systematic  change 
in  business  and  market  models, 
product design, ways of transferring waste to resources, 
and in the producers and consumers’ related values and 
behaviour.  

the  most 

In  Croatia, 
the 
development  of  circular  economy  and  eco-innovation 
include:  

relevant  policies 

for 

 
 

Sustainable Development Strategy of (2009)  
Strategic plan of Ministry of Environment and Nature 
Protection 2015-2017 

  National renewable energy action plan until 2020 
 

innovation  encouragement  of  the 

Strategy  for 
Republic of Croatia 2014-2020  

  Third  national  plan  for  energy  efficiency  2014-2016 

and 

  Waste Management Strategy  

Other  related  policy  instruments  in  the  area  of  circular 
include  the  Energy  Efficiency  Act  (2015), 
economy 
infrastructures 
innovation 
research  and 
Croatian 
roadmap 
for  Green 
(2014),  National  action  plan 
procurement  (2015)  and  Act  on  Renewable  Energy 
Sources and High Efficient Cogeneration (2015). 

5 European Commission, 2015. Proposed Circular Economy Package 
6 Resource productivity is defined as the ratio between gross domestic 

product (GDP) and domestic material consumption (DMC). 

7 Eurostat, Resource productivity, accessed October 2016. 

8 Eurostat, Resource productivity, accessed October 2016 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
SMEs and resource efficiency 

Figure 2: Eco-Innovation Index 2015 (EU=100)9 

Croatia  7 

SMEs in Croatia account for 56.2% of total value added - 
compared with 58% in the EU - and provide 67% of total 
employment,  which  is  close  to  the  EU  average.  Since 
2008, the value added of Croatian SMEs has dropped by 
over  25%  and  their  employment  by  nearly  13%.  The 
outlook  for  the  period  2014-2016  offers  a  gradual 
recovery. SME employment is predicted to grow by over 
3%, creating about 21 700 new jobs by 2016. SME value 
added  is  expected  to  increase  by  6%.  The  forecast  is 
particularly  encouraging  for  micro  enterprises,  as  their 
value  added  is  projected  to  rise  by  9%  and  their 
employment by 6%. 

In  the  Flash  426  Eurobarometer  "SMEs,  resource 
efficiency  and  green  markets"  it  is  shown  that  in  2015 
57%  of  Croatia's  SMEs  have  invested    up  to  5%  of  their 
annual turnover in their resource efficiency actions, 23% 
of  them  are  currently  offering  green  products  and 
services,  64%  took  measures  to  save  energy  (EU28 
average  59%),  66%  to  minimise  waste  (EU28  average 
60%), 51% to save water (EU28 average 44%), and 53% to 
save  materials  (EU28  average  54%).  From  a  circular 
economy  perspective,  33%  took  measures  to  recycle  by 
reusing  material  or  waste  within  the  company,  18%  to 
design  products  that  are  easier  to  maintain,  repair  or 
reuse  and  27%  were  able  to  sell  their  scrap  material  to 
another company. 

Cost saving is by far the most common reason for taking 
resource  efficiency  actions  (68%  of  SMEs  in  the  EU).  In 
Croatia,  71%  of  the  SMEs  taking  resource  efficiency 
actions are doing so for cost savings.  In fact, according to 
the  Flash  426  Eurobarometer,  the  resource  efficiency 
actions  undertaken  allowed  the  reduction  of  production 
costs in a 51% of the Croatian SMEs. 

information, 

The Flash 426 Eurobarometer "SMEs, resource efficiency 
and  green  markets"  defines  "green  job"  as  a  job  that 
directly  deals  with 
technologies,  or 
materials  that  preserves  or  restores  environmental 
quality.  This  requires  specialised  skills,  knowledge, 
training,  or  experience  (e.g.  verifying  compliance  with 
environmental legislation, monitoring resource efficiency 
within  the  company,  promoting  and  selling  green 
products  and  services)  shows  that  45%  of  the  SMEs  in 
Croatia have one or more full time employee working in a 
green  job  at  least  some  of  the  time.    Croatia  has  an 
average number of 3 full time green employees per SME.  

Eco-Innovation 

For the year 2015 Croatia is ranked low among the EU-28 
countries  in  terms  of  eco-innovation  performance  as 
shown  in  Figure  2.  The  country  has  achieved  an  index 
33% lower than the EU average. This places Croatia fifth 
from the bottom in the EU-28 ranking of eco-innovation, 
which is the same ranking Croatia held in 2013.   

Within  EU  funding  programs,  the  Competitiveness  and 
Innovation  Framework  Programme  (CIP)  is  considered 
very  successful  in  terms  of  co-financing  projects  related 
to eco-innovation. CIP concludes at the end of 2016, but 
programs, such as HORIZON 2020 may further stimulate 
the development of eco-innovation, continue running.  

Croatia  underwent  a  significant  period  of  economic 
recession  from  2008  until  2014,  which  had  significant 
negative impacts on the scope of investments, including 
those in clean technologies. A major consequence of the 
recession  included  significantly  less  funds  allocated  for 
environmental improvements as well as for research and 
development  in  the  environmental  technologies  sector. 
In  2014  and  2015  a  modest  growth  of  production  was 
observed and slow rates of growth are also predicted for 
the  year  2016.  Thus,  access  to  investments  for  eco-
innovation  and  circular  economy  development  remain 
mainly provided through EU funds.  

could  be 

Eco-innovation 
further  developed  and 
promoted  in  Croatia.  A  targeted  eco-innovation  policy 
still does not exist. Current efforts of responsible bodies 
to  support  technological  innovation  in  general  (which 
primarily  focus  on  the  small  and  medium-sized  business 
sector) may not be sufficient to improve eco-innovation.  

9 Eco-innovation Observatory: Eco-Innovation scoreboard 2015 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
 
                                                            
Croatia  8 

Figure 3: Municipal waste by treatment in Croatia 2007-
1412 

Regarding  the  Eco-Management  and  Audit  Scheme 
(EMAS)  registration,  Croatia,  is  one  of  the  two  Member 
States,  having  no  EMAS  registration  in  the  country.  All 
administrative  procedures  are  in  place,  but  there  is  no 
official promotion strategy in place.  

Regarding  Ecolabel  licenses,  Croatia  is  within  the  lowest 
achieving  group  of  EU  countries.  Indeed,  it  has  had  less 
than 10 Ecolabel licenses. 

Suggested action 

  Strengthen  the  policy  framework  to  speed  up  the 
uptake  of  the  circular  economy  by  all  economic 
sectors.. 

Waste management  

Turning waste into a resource requires: 
 

implementation  of  Union  waste 

Full 
legislation, 
which  includes  the  waste  hierarchy;  the  need  to 
ensure  separate  collection  of  waste;  the  landfill 
diversion targets etc. 

  Reducing  per  capita  waste  generation  and  waste 

 

generation in absolute terms. 
Limiting energy recovery to non-recyclable materials 
recyclable  or 
and  phasing  out 
recoverable waste. 

landfilling  of 

SDG  12  invites  countries  to  substantially  reduce  waste 
generation  through  prevention,  reduction,  recycling  and 
reuse, by 2030. 

The EU's approach to waste management is based on the 
"waste  hierarchy"  which  sets  out  an  order  of  priority 
when  shaping  waste  policy  and  managing  waste  at  the 
level:  prevention,  (preparing  for)  reuse, 
operational 
recycling,  recovery  and,  as  the  least  preferred  option, 
disposal  (which 
incineration 
includes 
without energy recovery). 

landfilling  and 

The  progress  towards  reaching  recycling  targets  and the 
adoption  of  adequate  WMP/WPP10  should  be  the  key 
items  to  measure  the  performance  of  Member  States. 
This section focuses on management of municipal waste 
for which EU law sets mandatory recycling targets. 
Municipal  waste11  generation  has  slightly  decreased  in 
2014  breaking  the  upward  trend  since  2010  and 
remaining  considerably  below  the  EU  average  (387 
kg/y/inhabitant 
475 
kg/y/inhabitant). 

compared 

around 

to 

Figure  3  depicts  the  municipal  waste  by  treatment  in 
Croatia  in  terms  of  kg  per  capita,  which  shows  a  slight 
increase in recycling and reduction in landfilling.  

10 Waste Management Plans/Waste Prevention Programmes 
11 Municipal waste consists of waste collected by or on behalf of 

municipal authorities, or directly by the private sector (business or 
private non-profit institutions) not on behalf of municipalities. 

Recycling  of  municipal  waste  (including  composting) 
remains  quite  low  (17%  in  2014  compared  to  the  EU 
average  of  44%  in  2014);  significant  efforts  will  be 
needed to meet the EU recycling target by 2020 as shown 
in Figure 413.  
Figure 4: Recycling rate of municipal waste 2007-1414 

Landfilling of municipal waste accounts for 83% whereas 
the  EU  average  is  28%  (2014).  The  amount  of  landfilled 
Biodegradable Municipal Waste (BMW) is decreasing.  

Furthermore,  in  2013,  115%  of  BMW  was  landfilled 
compared to the reference year 1997. Therefore, the EU 
Accession  Treaty  target  for  2013  (to  landfill  a  maximum 

12 Eurostat, Municipal waste and treatment, by type of treatment 

method, accessed October 2016 

13 Member States may choose a different method than the one used by 
ESTAT (and referred to in this report) to calculate their recycling rates 
and track compliance with the 2020 target of 50% recycling of 
municipal waste. 

14 Eurostat, Recycling rate of municipal waste, accessed October 2016 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
                                                            
 
 
                                                            
Croatia  9 

the change of the government. A new draft WMP for the 
period  2016  –  2022  was  prepared  and  the  government 
planned to adopt it by the end of 2016. It has finally been 
adopted in January 2017.  The WPP is an integral part of 
the new WMP.  

Suggested action 

  Focus  more  effort  on  implementation  of  the  separate 
increase  recycling  rates. 
collection  obligation  to 
Introduce  and  gradually 
landfill  taxes  to 
increase 
phase-out  landfilling  of  recyclable  and  recoverable 
waste.  Use  the  revenues  to  support  the  separate 
collection and alternative infrastructure in conjunction 
with  a  use  of  the  cohesion  policy  funds  to  the  first 
steps  of  waste  hierarchy. 
the 
infrastructure  for  the  treatment  of  residual  waste 
should  be  carefully  planned  in  order  to  avoid  building 
excessive capacity.  

Investments 

in 

  Undertake  a  review  of  the  extended  producer 
responsibility schemes to improve their effectiveness. 

illegal 

amount  of  BMW  equivalent to  75%)  was clearly  missed. 
In  addition, 
important 
problem in Croatia15, and even though a great effort has 
been  taken  for  remediation  and  consequently  closing 
illegal dumping sites, there is still scope for improvement.  

landfilling  remains  an 

The  underlying  causes  for  the  current  distance  to  EU 
waste  targets  are:  suboptimal  planning  of  waste 
management,  insufficient  incentives  to  manage  waste 
according  to  the  waste  hierarchy,  insufficient  (door-to-
door) separate collection of waste, lack of clear allocation 
of tasks and lack of co-ordination between the different 
administrative 
insufficient  enforcement 
capacity. Although Croatia has invested in improvements 
to  its  waste  management  services,  to  date,  most  of  the 
investment  has  been 
focussed  on  residual  waste 
treatment.  At  the  lower  levels  of  the  hierarchy,  and  at 
the  local  level,  however,  there  is  insufficient  funding 
available  to  develop  and  operate  source  segregated 
collection services.  

levels,  and 

An  example  to  look  upon  is  Eco  Island  Krk,  as  already 
explained in the Executive summary.  

joined  the  European  Union  relatively 
Croatia  has 
recently,  and  compliance  with  the 
legislation  has 
therefore  required  significant  changes  to  the  country’s 
waste  management  system  and  legislation  in  recent 
years. 

In  order  to  help  bridge  the  implementation  gap  in 
Croatia,  the  Commission  has  delivered  a  roadmap  for 
compliance in which economic instruments play a crucial 
role16. 

The  Commission  initiated  the  infringement  procedure 
against  Croatia  for  the  non-conformity  of  the  Croatian 
legislation  with  the  Waste  Framework  Directive.  The 
assessment of conformity of the national legislation with 
other EU directives in the waste sector will follow.  

late 

Croatia  was 
in  adopting  the  national  waste 
management  Plan  (WMP)  and  the  waste  prevention 
programme  (WPP)  (the  deadline  was  31  December 
201417),  which  are  the  necessary  tools  to  reflect  on  the 
existing policies and develop a strategy to achieve the EU 
waste  management 
key 
implementation  documents  also  relevant  to  secure  key 
EU  funds  under  cohesion  policy.  The  situation  was 
reflected in the infringement case for the lack of a valid 
WMP and WPP.  

targets. 

These 

are 

A  draft  WMP  for  the  period  2015-2021  was  prepared  in 
late 2015. However, its adoption has been delayed due to 

15 Partnership agreement for the European Structural and investment 

funds in the EU financial period 2014-2020 

16 European Commission, Support to Implementation – The Commission 

helps 8 Member States to improve their municipal waste 
management.. Fact sheet for Croatia.  

17 http://mzoip.hr/doc/act_on_sustainable_waste_management.pdf , 

Article 181  

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
                                                            
  
2. Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital 

Croatia  10 

Nature and Biodiversity  

The  EU  Biodiversity  Strategy  aims  to  halt  the  loss  of 
biodiversity  in  the  EU  by  2020,  restore  ecosystems  and 
their services in so far as feasible, and step up efforts to 
avert  global  biodiversity  loss.  The  EU  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives  aim  at  achieving  favourable  conservation 
status of protected species and habitats.  

SDG  14  requires  countries  to  conserve  and  sustainably 
use the oceans, seas and marine resources, while SDG 15 
requires  countries  to  protect,  restore  and  promote  the 
sustainable  use  of  terrestrial  ecosystems,  sustainably 
manage  forests,  combat  desertification,  and  halt  and 
reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. 

The  1992  EU  Habitats  Directive  and  the  1979  Birds 
Directive are the cornerstone of the European legislation 
aimed  at  the  conservation  of  the  EU's  wildlife.  Natura 
2000, the largest coordinated network of protected areas 
in  the  world,  is  the  key  instrument  to  achieve  and 
implement the Directives' objectives to ensure the  long-
term  protection,  conservation  and  survival  of  Europe's 
most  valuable  and  threatened  species  and  habitats  and 
the ecosystems they underpin. 

The  adequate  designation  of  protected  sites  as  Special 
Ares  of  Conservation  (SAC)  under  the  Habitats  Directive 
and  as  Special  Protection  Areas  (SPA)  under  the  Birds 
Directive 
is  a  key  milestone  towards  meeting  the 
objectives  of  the  Directives.  The  results  of  Habitats 
Directive Article 17 and Birds Directive Article 12 reports 
and  the  progress  towards  adequate  Sites  of  Community 
Importance (SCI)-SPA and SAC designation18 both in land 
and  at  sea,  should  be  the  key  items  to  measure  the 
performance of Member States. 

The  Croatian  Natura  2000  network  under  the  Habitats 
and the Birds Directives was officially designated in 2013 
and  amended in  2015.  The  Natura  2000  network  covers 
36.5%  of  Croatian  land  area  (2nd  largest  network  in  the 
EU  in  relation  to  MS  area)  and  significant  marine  area 
(4986  km2)19.  By  2015,  Croatia  designated  741  sites  of 
community interest (SCI) and 38 special protection areas 
(SPA).  

While  the  terrestrial  part  of  the  network  can  now  be 
considered  complete20,  the  marine  part  still  presents 

18 Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) are designated pursuant to the 
Habitats Directive whereas Special Areas of Protection (SPAs) are 
designated pursuant to the Birds Directive; figures of coverage do 
not add up due to the fact that some SCIs and SPAs overlap. Special 
Areas of Conservation (SACs) means a SCI designated by the Member 
States. 

19 European Commission, Natura2000 nature and biodiversity 

newsletter January 2016  

20 For each Member State, the Commission assesses whether the 
species and habitat types on Annexes I and II of the Habitats 

some  insufficiencies  in  terms  of  designation  (see  Figure 
521).  

Figure  5:  Sufficiency  assessment  of  SCI  networks  in 
Croatia  based  on  the  situation  until  December  2013 
(%)22  

The 6-year deadline required by the Habitats Directive to 
designate the Special Areas of Conservation and establish 
appropriate conservation measures has not yet expired. 

framework 

According  to  the  information  submitted  by  Croatian 
authorities,  the  funding  for  the  implementation  of  the 
Habitats  and  Birds  Directives  is  insufficient23.    As  the 
prioritised  action 
(PAF)  has  not  been 
prepared,  estimate  of  the  financing  needs  to  fulfil  the 
obligations  under  these  Directives  was  done  in  the 
process  of  preparation  of  the  OPs  under  European 
Structural  and 
Investment  Funds  –  ESI  funds.  The 
extensive  work  is  underway  within  several  national 
projects  (with  the  use  of  ESI  funds)  to  map  biodiversity 

Directive, are sufficiently represented by the sites designated to 
date. This is expressed as a percentage of species and habitats for 
which further areas need to be designated in order to complete the 
network in that country. A scientific reserve is given when further 
research is needed to identify the most appropriate sites to be added 
for a species or habitat. The current data, which were assessed in 
2014-2015, reflect the situation up until December 2013. 

21 The percentages in Figure 5 refer to percentages of the total number 
of assessments (one assessment covering 1 species or 1 habitat in a 
given biographical region with the Member State); if a habitat type or 
a species occurs in more than 1 Biogeographic region within a given 
Member State, there will be as many individual assessments as there 
are Biogeographic regions with an occurrence of that species or 
habitat in this Member State. 

22 European Commission, internal assessment. 
23 Milieu Ltd., 2016. Evaluation Study to support 

the Fitness Check of the Birds and Habitats Directives- Draft Final 
Report for the European Commission, January 2016 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
 
                                                            
 
                                                                                                 
Croatia  11 

Suggested action 

  Complete the SAC designation process and put in place 
clearly  defined  conservation  objectives  and 
the 
necessary  conservation  measures  for  the  sites  and 
provide  adequate  resources  for  their  implementation 
in  order  to  maintain/restore  species  and  habitats  of 
community interest to a favourable conservation status 
across their natural range.  

  Develop  the  prioritised  action  framework  (PAF)  to 
enable  the  strategic  financial  planning  and  ensure  the 
adequate  EU  co-financing  for  the  next  programming 
period according to the identified needs. 

components  and  to  establish  the  monitoring  and 
reporting  systems.  The  work  on  the  Natura  2000 
management  framework  in  the  following  years  should 
establish  the  necessary  management  structures  and 
design  concrete  measures  on  the  site  level.  However, 
there is a lack of efficient cooperation with some sectors 
(e.g.  energy  and  fisheries)  which  can  be  an  obstacle  to 
achieving  the  objectives  of  the  directives.  Some  steps 
have  been  taken  to  strengthen  cooperation  with  the 
water sector, but more effort is needed for the effective 
integration  of  nature  and  biodiversity  protection 
objectives into water management. 

initiated 

the  Commission 

infringement 
In  2016, 
procedures  against  Croatia  for  non-conformity  of  the 
national  legislation  with  the  Habitats  Directive  and  the 
Birds  Directive.  Croatia  has  committed  to  rectify  the 
instances  of  non-conformity  by  the  end  of  2016. 
However, in December 2016 we have been informed that 
we should expect a half a year delay. 

Croatia has joined the EU in 2013 and therefore has not 
yet  reported  on  the  conservation  status  of  habitats  and 
species covered by the Habitats Directive and the status 
of  the  implementation  of  the  Birds  Directive.  The  first 
report is due in 2019.  

The  majority  of  natural  habitats  are  contracting: 
watercourses  and  adjacent  wetlands  due  to  regulation 
works;  coastal  habitats  due  to  building  and  tourism 
related activities; grasslands overgrowing due to ceasing 
of traditional use - mowing and grazing. Fragmentation of 
habitats  was  increased  due  to  increased  building  of 
highways and other roads.  

The  construction  of  roads  and  other  transport  routes 
typically  results  in  habitat  fragmentation.  However,  in 
Croatia  potential  threats  to 
large  carnivores  from 
highway  construction  have  been  reduced  through  the 
construction  of  green  bridges,  serving  as  animal 
corridors.  Today  there  are  11  such  crossings,  which  are 
regularly  monitored,  including  the  use  of  camera  traps 
that document what is happening on individual crossings. 
Monitoring proves that crossings are highly effective and 
used regularly by large carnivores and other animals. 

Estimating Natural Capital  

The EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 calls on the Member 
States  to  map  and  asses  the  state  of  ecosystems  and 
their  services  in  their  national  territory  by  2014,  assess 
the  economic  value  of  such  services,  and  promote  the 
integration of these values into accounting and reporting 
systems at EU and national level by 2020. 

Croatia has completed a Study on Freshwater Ecosystem 
Services2425  according  to  the  Millennium  Ecosystem 
Assessment  (MA),  with  a  focus  on 
lowland  river 
ecosystems and services in the Danube basin. A mapping 
exercise for terrestrial habitats is underway, as a basis for 
the  mapping  and  assessment  of  ecosystems  and  their 
services. 

Suggested action 

  Strengthen support for the mapping and assessment of 
ecosystems and their services, and valuation work and 
develop natural capital accounting systems. 

24 Ecosystem services are benefits provided by nature such as food, 
clean water and pollination on which human society depends. 

25http://www.hr.undp.org/content/dam/croatia/docs/Research%20and
%20publications/environment/Study%20of%20Freshwater%20Ecosy
stem%20Services%20in%20Croatia_FINAL_eng.pdf  

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Green Infrastructure  
The  EU  strategy  on  green  infrastructure26  promotes  the 
incorporation  of  green  infrastructure  into  related  plans 
and  programmes  to  help  overcome  fragmentation  of 
habitats  and  preserve  or  restore  ecological  connectivity, 
enhance  ecosystem  resilience  and  thereby  ensure  the 
continued provision of ecosystem services. 

Green  Infrastructure  provides  ecological,  economic  and 
social  benefits  through  natural  solutions.  It  helps  to 
understand the value of the benefits that nature provides 
to human society and to mobilise investments to sustain 
and enhance them. 

There  are  some  good  examples  of  the  use  of  natural 
solutions in Croatia, in particular for flood protection. The 
largest  floodwater  retention  area  in  the  Central  Sava 
in  the  Lonjsko  Polje  Nature  Park, 
Basin 
combining  the  ecological  and  landscape  diversity  values 
of  natural  floodplains  and  wetlands  with  the  storage  of 
floodwaters of the Sava River.  

located 

is 

However,  a  more  strategic  approach  to  flood  risk 
reduction 
is  needed  to  ensure  that  environmental 
impacts  are  duly  considered  and  that  Flood  Risk 
Management  Plans  are  coordinated  with  River  Basin 
Management  Plans.  The  use  of  natural  water  retention 
measures should be prioritised to deliver environmental, 
social and economic benefits. 

to 

linked 

Having  in  mind  that  roughly  one  third  of  the  Croatian 
Natura  2000  network  is  agricultural  land,  the  Rural 
Development Programme of Croatia for the period 2014-
2020 includes a sub-measure to “support non-productive 
the  achievement  of  agri-
investments 
sub-
environment-climate  objectives”.  Within 
measure, 
for 
biodiversity  conservation  (e.g.  meadows,  pastures  and 
financed. 
livestock  watering)  can  be 
for 
ponds 
Additionally, 
in  order  to  ensure  maintenance  and 
preservation  of  the  valuable  habitats,  a  sub-measure  on 
“payment  for  agri-environment-climate  commitments” 
was developed. 

restoration  of  habitats 

this 
important 

Soil protection  

further 

soil  degradation  and 

The  EU  Soil  Thematic  Strategy  highlights  the  need  to 
ensure  a  sustainable  use  of  soils.  This  requires  the 
prevention  of 
the 
preservation of its functions, as well as the restoration of 
degraded  soils.  The  2011  Road  Map  for  Resource-
Efficient  Europe,  part  of  Europe  2020  Strategy  provides 
that  by  2020,  EU  policies  take  into  account  their  direct 
and  indirect  impact  on  land  use  in  the  EU  and  globally, 
and  the  rate  of  land  take  is  on  track  with  an  aim  to 
achieve no net land take by 2050. 

Croatia  12 

SDG  15  requires  countries  to  combat  desertification, 
restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by 
desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve 
a land-degradation-neutral world by 2030. 

Soil is an important resource for life and the economy. It 
provides  key  ecosystem  services  including  the  provision 
of food, fibre and biomass for renewable energy, carbon 
sequestration,  water  purification  and  flood  regulation, 
the provision of raw and building material. Soil is a finite 
and  extremely 
increasingly 
degrading  in  the  EU.  Land  taken  by  urban  development 
and infrastructure is highly unlikely to be reverted to its 
natural  state;  it  consumes  mostly  agricultural  land  and 
increases  fragmentation  of  habitats.  Soil  protection  is 
indirectly  addressed  in  existing EU policies  in  areas  such 
as  agriculture,  water,  waste,  chemicals,  and  prevention 
of industrial pollution. 

resource  and 

fragile 

Figure 6 shows the different land cover types in Croatia in 
2012. 
Figure 6: Land Cover types in Croatia 201227 

Artificial  land  cover  is  used  for  settlements,  production 
systems and infrastructure. It may itself be split between 
built-up areas (buildings) and non-built-up areas (such as 
linear transport networks and associated areas). 

The annual land take rate (growth of artificial areas) was 
0.41%  over  the  period  2006-2012,  identical  to  the  EU 
average  (0.41%).  It  represented  783  hectares  per  year 

26 European Union, Green Infrastructure — Enhancing Europe’s Natural 

27 European Environment Agency, Land cover 2012 and changes country 

Capital, COM/2013/0249 

analysis [publication forthcoming] 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
                                                            
 
                                                            
and is increasingly driven by the sprawl of industrial and 
commercial  units28.  The  percentage  of  built  up  land  in 
2009 was 2.19%, below the EU average (3.23%)29. 

The soil water erosion rate in 2010 was 3.09 tonnes per 
ha per year, close to EU-28 average (2.46 tonnes)30.  

There are still no EU-wide datasets enabling the provision 
of  benchmark  indicators  for  soil  organic  matter  decline, 
contaminated sites, pressures on soil biology and diffuse 
pollution.  An  updated  inventory  and  assessment  of  soil 
protection  policy  instruments  in  Croatia  and  other  EU 
Member  States  is  being  performed  by  the  EU  Expert 
Group on Soil Protection. 

Marine protection 

The EU Coastal and Marine Policy and legislation require 
that by 2020 the impact of pressures on marine waters is 
reduced  to  achieve  or  maintain  good  environmental 
status and coastal zones are managed sustainably. 

SDG  14  requires  countries  to  conserve  and  sustainably 
for 
use  the  oceans,  seas  and  marine  resources 
sustainable development. 
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)31 aims 
to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES)32 of the EU's 
marine  waters  by  2020  by  providing  an  ecosystem 
approach  to  the  management  of  human  activities  with 
impact  on  the  marine  environment.  The  Directive 
requires  Member  States  to  develop  and  implement  a 
marine  strategy  for  their  marine  waters,  and  cooperate 
with  Member  States  sharing  the  same  marine  region  or 
sub-region. 

As part of their marine strategies, Member States had to 
make  an  initial  assessment  of  their  marine  waters, 
determine  GES  and  establish  environmental  targets  by 
July  2012.  They  also  had  to  establish  monitoring 
programmes for the on-going assessment of their marine 
waters  by  July  2014.  The  next  element  of  their  marine 
strategy  is  to  establish  a  Programme  of  Measures  (first 
quarter  2017).  The  Commission  assesses  whether  these 
elements  constitute  an  appropriate  framework  to  meet 
the requirements of the MSFD. 

Croatian  marine  waters  are  part  of  the  Mediterranean 
marine region and the Adriatic Sea sub-region. Croatia is 
party to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine 
the 
Environment 

the  Coastal  Region  of 

and 

28 European Environment Agency Draft results of CORINE Land Cover 

(CLC) inventory 2012; mean annual land take 2006-12 as a % of 2006 
artificial land. 

29 European Environment Agency, 2016. Imperviousness and 

imperviousness change 

30 Eurostat, Soil water erosion rate, Figure 2, accessed November 2016 
31 European Union, Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC 
32 The MSFD defines Good Environmental Status (GES) in Article 3 as: 
“The environmental status of marine waters where these provide 
ecologically diverse and dynamic oceans and seas which are clean, 
healthy and productive” 

Croatia  13 

on 

(Barcelona 

Convention). 

The 
Mediterranean 
Mediterranean Sea region has been identified by the EEA 
in its 2015 State of the Environment report as one of the 
main climate change hotspots (i.e. one of the areas most 
responsive  to  climate  change)  due  to  water  scarcity, 
concentration of economic activities in coastal areas, and 
climate-sensitive 
reliance 
The 
introduction  of 
invasive  alien  species  presents  an 
important  threat  in  the  Mediterranean  Sea  Region  with 
the  number  of 
increasing 
significantly since 1970. Finally, the unique biodiversity of 
the  Mediterranean  Sea  Region  is  also  threatened  by 
pollution from land-based sources, such as discharges of 
excess nutrients and hazardous substances, marine litter, 
over-fishing, and degradation of critical habitats. 

invasive  alien  species 

agriculture. 

The Commission is currently assessing the conformity of 
Croatian legislation with the MSFD.  

With  regards  to  specificities  of  implementation  of  the 
MSFD,  Croatia  has  defined  GES  for  all  descriptors33; 
however  the  approach  used  by  Croatia  to  define  GES 
varies between Descriptors. In some cases it is unclear if 
GES is actually defined for the Descriptor while other GES 
definitions are indicated as being proposals34. 

It  is  therefore  too  early  to  say  whether  Croatian  waters 
are 
in 
in  good  status  as  there  were  weaknesses 
identifying  what  "good  environmental  status"  is  in  the 
first place. 

Croatia  established  a  monitoring  programme  of 
its 
marine  waters  in  2014.  However  it  seems  that  its 
monitoring  programmes  for  all  descriptors  need  further 
an 
refinement 
appropriate framework to monitor progress towards GES, 
especially  since  the  monitoring  programme  will  not  be 
adequate to monitor progress towards its targets before 

and  development 

constitute 

to 

33 To help Member States interpret what GES means in practice, the 
Directive sets out, in Annex I, eleven qualitative descriptors which 
describe what the environment will look like when GES has been 
achieved. 

34 Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the Commission 
Report assessing Member States' monitoring programmes under the 
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (COM(2017)3 and SWD(2017)1 
final) 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
                                                            
 
                                                            
Croatia  14 

2018  for  most  descriptors,  the  date  by  which  the  next 
assessment of Croatia's marine waters is due35. However, 
it is important to note that the monitoring programme is 
reported as being adequate to monitor progress towards 
GES as of 2014. 
In  its  report  on  the  implementation  of  the  MSFD36,  the 
Commission  provided  guidance  to  assist  Croatia  in  its 
implementation  of  the  Marine  Strategy  Framework 
Directive.  

Suggested action 

  Continue  work  to  improve  the  definitions  of  GES, 
including  through  regional  cooperation  by  using  the 
work of the relevant Regional Sea Convention. 
assessing 

(and 
approaches 
quantifying) impacts from the main pressures in order 
to  lead  to  improved  and  more  conclusive  assessment 
results for 2018 reporting. 

  Further 

develop 

  Continue  to 

integrate  already  existing  monitoring 
programmes  required  under  relevant  EU  legislation; 
and other international agreements and to implement 
joint  monitoring 
at 
(sub)regional  level,  for 
instance  by  the  Barcelona 
Convention. 

programmes, 

developed 

  Enhance  compatibility  and  consistency  of  monitoring 

methods within its marine region. 

  Urgently  report  and  implement  its  programme  of 

measures. 

  Ensure  that  the  monitoring  programme  is  appropriate 

to monitor progress towards GES. 

35 Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the Commission 
Report assessing Member States' monitoring programmes under the 
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (COM(2017)3 and SWD(2017)1 
final) 

36 Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the Commission 
Report assessing Member States' monitoring programmes under the 
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (COM(2017)3 and SWD(2017)1 
final) 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. Ensuring citizens' health and quality of life 

Air quality  

the currently applicable national emission ceilings39.   

Croatia  15 

The  EU  Clean  Air  Policy  and  legislation  require  that  air 
quality  in  the  Union  is  significantly  improved,  moving 
closer  to  the  WHO  recommended  levels.  Air  pollution 
and its impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity should be 
further reduced with the long-term aim of not exceeding 
critical  loads  and  levels.  This  requires  strengthening 
efforts  to  reach  full  compliance  with  Union  air  quality 
legislation  and  defining  strategic  targets  and  actions 
beyond 2020. 

 The  EU  has  developed  a  comprehensive  suite  of  air 
legislation37,  which  establishes  health-based 
quality 

attributable 

At the same time, air quality in Croatia is giving cause for 
concern.  For  the  year  2013,  the  European  Environment 
Agency40  estimated  that  about  4 820  premature  deaths 
were 
particulate  matter 
concentrations, 240 to ozone concentration41 and 160 to 
nitrogen  dioxide  concentrations42.    This  is  due  also  to 
exceedances  above  the  EU  air  quality  standards  such  as 
shown in Figure 743.    

fine 

to 

For 2014, exceedances above the EU air quality standards 
have  been  registered  for  concentrations  of  particulate 
matter  (PM10)44  in  three  air  quality  zones.  Target  values 

Figure 7: Attainment situation for PM10, NO2 and O3 in 2014 

standards  and  objectives  for  a  number  of  air  pollutants. 
As  part  of  this,  Member  States  are  required  to  ensure 
that  up-to-date  information  on  ambient  concentrations 
of  different  air  pollutants  is  routinely  made  available  to 
the  public.  The  National  Emission  Ceilings  Directive 
provides  for  emission  reductions  at  national  level  that 
should be achieved for main pollutants.  

The  emission  of  several  air  pollutants  has  decreased 
significantly  in  Croatia38.  Reductions  between  1990  and 
2014  for  sulphur  oxides  (91%),  nitrogen  oxides  (-47%), 
ammonia (-42%) as well as volatile organic compounds (-
57%) ensure air emissions for these pollutants are within 

37 European Commission, 2016. Air Quality Standards 
38 See EIONET Central Data Repository and Air pollutant emissions data 

viewer (NEC Directive) 

for annual mean concentrations have also been exceeded 

39 The current national emission ceilings apply since 2010 (Directive 
2001/81/EC); revised ceilings for 2020 and 2030 have been set by 
Directive (EU) 2016/2284 on the reduction of national emissions of 
certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive 2003/35/EC and 
repealing Directive 2001/81/EC. 

40 European Environment Agency, 2016. Air Quality in Europe – 2016 
Report. (Table 10.2, please see details in this report as regards the 
underpinning    methodology) 

41 Low level ozone is produced by photochemical action on pollution 

and it is also a greenhouse gas. 

42 NOx is emitted during fuel combustion e.g. from industrial facilities 
and the road transport sector. NOx is a group of gases comprising 
nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). 

43 Based on European Environment Agency, 2016. Air Quality in Europe 

– 2016 Report. (Figures 4.1, 5.1 and 6.1) 

44 Particulate matter (PM) is a mixture of aerosol particles (solid and 
liquid) covering a wide range of sizes and chemical compositions. 
PM10 (PM2.5) refers to particles with a diameter of 10 (2.5) 
micrometres or less. PM is emitted from many human sources, 
including combustion. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
 
 
                                                            
                                                            
 
Croatia  16 

in two air quality zones for benzo(a)pyrene. Furthermore, 
the long-term objectives regarding ozone concentrations 
are not being met in at least one air quality zones45.  

The Commission currently investigates the conformity of 
the  Croatian  legislation  with  the  Industrial  Emissions 
Directive. 

It is estimated that the health-related external costs from 
air  pollution  in  Croatia  are  above  EUR  2  billion/year 
(income  adjusted,  2010),  which  include  not  only  the 
intrinsic  value  of  living  a  full  health  life  but  also  direct 
costs to the economy. These direct economic costs relate 
to  about  1  million  workdays  lost  each  year  due  to 
sickness related to air pollution, with associated costs for 
employers  of  EUR  92  million/year  (income  adjusted, 
2010),  for  healthcare  of  above  EUR  6  million/year 
(income adjusted, 2010), and for agriculture (crop losses) 
of EUR 30 million/year (2010)46. 

Suggested action 

  Maintain  downward  emissions  trends  of  air  pollutants 
in order to achieve full compliance with air quality limit 
values  -  and  reduce  adverse  air  pollution  impacts  on 
health, environment and economy. 

  Reduce PM10 emission and concentration, inter alia, by 
reducing  emissions  related  to  energy  and  heat 
generation  using  solid  fuels,  to  transport  and  to 
agriculture. 

Noise 

The  Environmental  Noise  Directive  provides  for  a 
common  approach  for  the  avoidance,  prevention  and 
reduction  of  harmful  effects  due  to  exposure  to 
environmental noise. 

Excessive  noise  is  one  of  the  main  causes  of  health 
issues47.  To  alleviate  this,  the EU  acquis  sets  out  several 
including  assessing  the  exposure  to 
requirements, 
environmental  noise  through  noise  mapping,  ensuring 
that information on environmental noise and its effects is 
made  available  to  the  public,  and  adopting  action  plans 
with  a  view  to  preventing  and  reducing  environmental 
noise  where  necessary  and  to  preserving  the  acoustic 
environment quality where it is good. 

Croatia's  implementation  of  the  Environmental  Noise 
Directive48 is significantly delayed. The noise mapping for 

45 See The EEA/Eionet Air Quality Portal and the related Central Data 

Repository 

46 These figures are based on the Impact Assessment for the European 

Commission Integrated Clean Air Package (2013) 

47 WHO/JRC, 2011, Burden of disease from environmental noise, 

Fritschi, L., Brown, A.L., Kim, R., Schwela, D., Kephalopoulos, S. (eds), 
World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, 
Denmark 

48 The Noise Directive requires Member States to prepare and publish, 
every 5 years, noise maps and noise management action plans for 
agglomerations with more than 100,000 inhabitants, and for major 

the  most  recent  reporting  round,  for  the  reference  year 
2011,  is  only  complete  for  agglomerations  and  major 
railways.  For  major  roads,  only  43%  of  the  mapping  is 
complete.  Action  plans  for  noise  management  in  the 
current  period  have  been  adopted  for  only  25%  of 
agglomerations,  43%  of  major  roads  and  0%  of  major 
railways.  

Suggested action 

  Complete action plans for noise management. 

Water quality and management 

(including  surface  and  ground  waters) 

The  EU  water  policy  and  legislation  require  that  the 
impact  of  pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh 
waters 
is 
significantly  reduced  to  achieve,  maintain  or  enhance 
good  status  of  water  bodies,  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive; that citizens throughout the Union 
benefit from high standards for safe drinking and bathing 
water;  and  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

SDG  6  encourages  countries  to  ensure  availability  and 
sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. 

The  main  overall  objective  of  EU  water  policy  and 
legislation  is  to  ensure  access  to  good  quality  water  in 
sufficient  quantity  for  all  Europeans.  The  EU  water 
acquis49  seeks  to  ensure  good  status  of  all  water  bodies 
across Europe by addressing pollution sources (from e.g. 
agriculture, urban areas and industrial activities), physical 
and  hydrological modifications to  water  bodies)  and  the 
management of risks of flooding.  

River  Basin  Management  Plans 
(RBMPs)  are  a 
requirement  of  the  Water  Framework  Directive  and  a 
means  of  achieving  the  protection,  improvement  and 
sustainable use of the water environment across Europe. 
This includes surface freshwaters such as lakes and rivers, 
groundwater,  estuaries  and  coastal  waters  up  to  one 
nautical mile. 

Croatia  has  provided  information  to  the  Commission 
from its second generation of RBMPs.  The 2nd RBMP for 
the  period  2016  –  2021  was  adopted  in  July  2016. 
However,  as  the  Commission  has  not  yet  been  able  to 
validate  this information  for all  Member  States,  it  is  not 
reported here. 

roads, railways and airports.  

49This includes the Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7/EC); the Urban 

Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) concerning 
discharges of municipal and some industrial waste waters; the 
Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC) concerning potable water 
quality; the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) concerning 
water resources management; the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) 
and the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
                                                            
 
                                                                                                 
In  its  first  generation  of  RBMPs  Croatia  reported  the 
status of 1231 rivers, 34 lakes, 28 transitional, 22 coastal 
and 32 groundwater bodies. 61% of natural surface water 
bodies achieve a good or high ecological status50 and only 
19% of heavily modified or artificial water bodies achieve 
a good or high ecological potential. 98% of surface water 
bodies,  98%  of  heavily  modified  and  artificial  water 
bodies  and  88%  of  groundwater  bodies  achieve  good 
chemical  status51.  84%  of  groundwater52  bodies  are  in 
good quantitative status. 

The  main  pressure  on  the  Croatian  surface  waters  is 
diffuse pollution53 that affects 94% of water bodies. River 
management  negatively  affects  40%  followed  by  flow 
regulation and morphological alterations that affect 30% 
of water bodies. Point sources of pollution affect 24% of 
water bodies and abstraction 1%.  

The  Croatian  RBMP  has  some  deficiencies  that  result  in 
uncertainties  about  the  status  and  effectiveness  of 
Programmes  of  Measures. 
In  particular  there  are 
weaknesses  in  monitoring,  methodologies  for  status 
link  between  pressures  and 
assessment  and 
Programmes of  Measures.  Addressing  these  weaknesses 
would provide more certainty about the water status. 

the 

in  2016  a  report 

Following Article 10 of the Nitrates Directive, Croatia has 
submitted 
information 
pertaining  to:  codes  of  good  farm  practice,  designated 
nitrate vulnerable zones, results of water monitoring and 
actions programmes. 

including 

As regards drinking water, Croatia was not concerned by 
the  latest  reporting  exercise  on  the  Drinking  Water 
Directive  because  of  the  recent  Accession  to  the  EU54.  
Croatia benefits from a transitional measure with respect 
to  the  requirements  of  the  Drinking  Water  Directive 
regarding microbiological and indicator parameters for a 
number of water supply zones. 

As  shown  in  Figure  8,  in  2015,  in  Croatia,  out  of  935 
bathing waters, 94.2% were of excellent quality, 1.9% of 
good  quality,  0.4%  of  sufficient  quality  while  it  was  not 
possible  to  assess  the  remaining  32  bathing  waters55. 

50 Good ecological status is defined in the Water Framework Directive, 
referring to the quality of the biological community, the hydrological 
characteristics and the chemical characteristics. 

51 Good chemical status is defined in the Water Framework Directive 

referring to compliance with all the quality standards established for 
chemical substances at European level. 

52 For groundwater, a precautionary approach has been taken that 

comprises a prohibition on direct discharges to groundwater, and (to 
cover indirect discharges) a requirement to monitor groundwater 
bodies. 

53 Diffuse pollution comes from widespread activities with no one 
discrete source, e.g. acid rain, pesticides, urban run-off, etc.  

54 Commission's Synthesis Report on the Quality of Drinking Water in 
the Union examining Member States' reports for the 2011-2013 
period, foreseen under Article 13(5) of Directive 98/83/EC; 
COM(2016)666 

55 European Environment Agency, 2016. European bathing water quality 

in 2015, p. 26 

Croatia  17 

Croatia's  bathing  water  quality  has  been  above  average 
over the past years. 
Figure 8: Bathing water quality 2012 – 201556 

The  Commission  recently  assessed  the  transposition  of 
the Urban Waste Water Treatment (UWWT) Directive in 
Croatia.  Croatia  made  significant  progress  in  reaching 
conformity;  still  some  legislatives  amendments  will  be 
necessary  to  fully  align  the  national  legislation  with  the 
Directive.  The  Accession  Treaty  provides  for  gradual 
compliance  with  the  requirements  of  the  Directive  for 
collecting  systems  and  treatment.  The  transitional 
measures are still active57 for all its agglomerations, and 
have  to  be  progressively  achieved  by  the  end  of  2018, 
2020 and 2023. Even if it is not compulsory, Croatia has 
started to report urban waste water information. On the 
basis of this first reporting, it is already clear that Croatia 
will  need  to  step  up  its  efforts  if  it  is  to  meet  the 
Accession  treaty  deadlines.  Croatia  belongs  to  a  pilot 
project which aims to improve dissemination of data58. 

The  estimated  investment  needs  (reported  by  Croatia 
under  Article  17  of  the  UWWTD  Directive)  to  reach  full 
compliance with the Directive are of EUR 2880 million59. 

Additional  efforts  have  to  be  put  in  place  to  ensure 
proper  management  of  waste  waters  in  agglomerations 
that  produce  a 
less  than  2000  population 
equivalent  if  health  risks  have  been  identified  due  to 
waste  water  pollution  (bathing  water,  shellfish  areas, 
drinking water).  

load  of 

56 European Environment Agency, State of bathing water, 2016 
57 European Commission, Eighth Report on the Implementation Status 
and the Programmes for Implementation of the Urban Waste Water 
Directive (COM (2016)105 final) and Commission Staff Working 
Document accompanying the report (SWD(2016)45 final). 

58 See: http://uwwtd.oieau.fr/croatia/ 
59 European Commission, Eighth Report on the Implementation Status 
and the Programmes for Implementation of the Urban Waste Water 
Directive (COM (2016)105 final) and Commission Staff Working 
Document accompanying the report (SWD(2016)45 final).  

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Croatia  18 

Croatia is hit regularly by flooding incidents with serious 
economic  damage  costs.  Since  2010  it  has  reported  to 
the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) EUR 298 million of damage 
due  to  the  floods.  Total  aid  granted  to  Croatia  from  the 
EUSF in this period was EUR 22.79 million. 

Suggested action 

  Croatia  could  do  a  more  detailed  assessment  of 
pressures to improve monitoring to know the status of 
water  bodies  and  design  effective  Programmes  of 
Measures 
the  main  pressures 
identified.  

that  address  all 

  Prompt  implementation  of  projects  necessary  for  the 
fulfilment of the requirements of the Accession Treaty 
with  respect  to  Urban  Waste  Water  Treatment 
Directive and Drinking Water Directive. 

Enhancing the sustainability of cities  

The  EU  Policy  on  the  urban  environment  encourages 
cities  to 
implement  policies  for  sustainable  urban 
planning and design, including innovative approaches for 
urban  public 
sustainable 
buildings,  energy  efficiency  and  urban  biodiversity 
conservation.  

transport  and  mobility, 

SDG11  aims  at  making  cities  and  human  settlements 
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. 

Europe is a Union of cities and towns; around 75% of the 
EU  population  are  living  in  urban  areas60.  The  urban 
environment  poses  particular  challenges 
the 
environment  and  human  health,  whilst  also  providing 
opportunities and efficiency gains in the use of resources.  

for 

The  Member  States,  European  institutions,  cities  and 
stakeholders have prepared a new Urban Agenda for the 
EU  (incorporating  the  Smart  Cities  initiative)  to  tackle 
these  issues  in  a  comprehensive  way,  including  their 
connections with social and economic challenges. At the 
heart  of  this  Urban  Agenda  will  be  the  development  of 
twelve  partnerships  on  the  identified  urban  challenges, 
including  air  quality  and  housing61.  The  European 
Commission  will  launch  a  new  EU  benchmark  system  in 
201762. 

The  EU  stimulates  green  cities  through  awards  and 
funding,  such  as  the  EU  Green  Capital  Award  aimed  at 
cities  with  more  than  100,000  inhabitants  and  the  EU 
Green  Leaf  initiative  aimed  at  cities  and  towns,  with 
between 20,000 and 100,000 inhabitants.  

Improved  urban  environment  through  renovation  and 

60 European Environment Agency, Urban environment 
61 http://urbanagendaforthe.eu/ 
62 The Commission is developing an Urban Benchmarking and 

Monitoring ('UBaM') tool to be launched in 2017. Best practices 
emerge and these will be better disseminated via the app featuring 
the UBaM tool, and increasingly via e.g. EUROCITIES, ICLEI, CEMR, 
Committee of the Regions, Covenant of Mayors and others. 

reuse  of  already  used  physical  and  natural  resources 
instead  of  additional  (physical)  resource  consumption  is 
one  of  the  strategic  objectives  in  relation  to  the  main 
funding priority and main expected results under the ESI 
Funds.  In  order  to  contribute  to  the  integrated  and 
sustainable  urban  development,  activities  under  the 
Thematic  objective  6:  Protecting  the  environment  and 
promoting  sustainable  use  of  resources  will  cover  the 
enhancement  of  the  urban  environment,  primarily  with 
the  goal 
secure  adequate  monitoring  and 
improvement  of  the  air  quality  and  usage  of  already 
existing  physical  resources  through  regeneration  and  re 
usage of brown fields. 

to 

Cities  in  continental  part  of  Croatia  register  increased 
values  of  PM  and  noise  exposure,  and  Action  Plans  for 
improvement  of  Air  Quality  have  been  put  in  place 
recently. Urban transport is responsible for about 25% of 
CO2 emissions from transport, and 69% of road accidents 
occur in cities. To improve the situation it is necessary to 
increase  the  efficiency  and  physical,  operational  and 
organisational integration of all the modes63.  

International agreements  

The  EU  Treaties  require  that  the  Union  policy  on  the 
environment  promotes  measures  at  the  international 
level  to  deal  with  regional  or  worldwide  environmental 
problems. 

Most  environmental  problems  have  a  transboundary 
nature  and  often  a  global  scope  and  they  can  only  be 
addressed effectively through international co-operation. 
International  environmental  agreements  concluded  by 
the Union are binding upon the institutions of the Union 
and  on  its Member  States.  This  requires  the  EU  and the 
Member  States  to  sign,  ratify  and  effectively  implement 
all  relevant  multilateral  environmental  agreements 
(MEAs) in a timely manner. This will also be an important 
contribution  towards  the  achievement  of  the  SDGs, 
which Member States committed to in 2015 and include 
many  commitments  contained  already  in  legally  binding 
agreements. 

The  fact  that  some  Member  States  did  not  sign  and/or 
ratify  a  number  of  MEAs  compromises  environmental 
implementation,  including  within  the  Union,  as  well  as 
the  Union’s  credibility 
in  related  negotiations  and 
the 
international  meetings  where 
participation of third countries to such agreements is an 
established  EU  policy  objective.  In  agreements  where 
voting takes place it has a direct impact on the number of 
votes to be cast by the EU.  

supporting 

   Croatia has signed and ratified almost all relevant MEAs. 

It has signed but not yet ratified the Offshore Protocol of  
the Barcelona Convention63. 

63 Partnership Agreement  

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
                                                            
  
                                                            
Part II: Enabling Framework: Implementation Tools 

4. Market based instruments and investment  

Croatia  19 

Green  taxation  and  environmentally  harmful 
subsidies  

The Circular Economy Action Plan encourages the use of 
financial  incentives  and  economic  instruments,  such  as 
taxation  to  ensure  that  product  prices  better  reflect 
environmental costs. The phasing out of environmentally 
harmful  subsidies  is  monitored  in  the  context  of  the 
European  Semester  and  in  national  reform  programmes 
submitted by Member States. 

Taxing pollution and resource use can generate increased 
revenue  and  bring  important  social  and  environmental 
benefits. 

Croatia  revenues  from  environmentally  related  taxes 
reached 3.86% of GDP in 2014 against an EU average of 
2.46%. Energy taxes amount to 2.33% of GDP, well above 
the EU average of 1.88%64. As shown in Figure 9, in 2014 
environmental  tax  revenues  accounted  for  10.51%  (up 
from  9.58%)  of  total  revenues  from  taxes  and  social-
security contributions (EU 28 average: 6.55%). This ranks 
Croatia  second  after  Slovenia,  significantly  superseding 
the EU average. 

A  2016  study  suggests  that  there 
is  considerable 
potential for shifting taxes from labour to  environmental 
taxes65. Under a good practice scenario66, it could add as 
much as HRK 3.55 billion in 2018 (EUR 0.47 billion) to the 
budget,  rising  to  HRK  6.61  billion  in  2030  (EUR  0.87 
billion) (both in real 2015 terms). This is equivalent to an 
additional  1.04%  and  1.67%  of  GDP  in  2018  and  2030, 
respectively.  The  largest  potential  source  of  revenue 
could  come  from  the  increase  in  vehicle  taxes.  This 
accounts  for  HRK  2.96  billion  in  2030  (EUR  0.39  billion) 
(real 2015 terms), equivalent to 0.75% of GDP. The next 
largest  contribution  to  revenue  might  come  from  the 
amendments  to  the  taxes  on  transport  fuels.  This 
accounts  for  HRK  1.2  billion  in  2030  (EUR  0.16  billion) 
(real 2015 terms), equivalent to 0.3% of GDP.  

64 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, accessed June 2016 
65 Eunomia Research and Consulting, IEEP, Aarhus University, ENT, 

2016. Study on Assessing the Environmental Fiscal Reform Potential 
for the EU28. N.B. National governments are responsible for setting 
tax rates within the EU Single Market rules and this report is not 
suggesting concrete changes as to the level of environmental 
taxation. It merely presents the findings of recent studies on the 
potential benefits various environmental taxes could bring. It is then 
for the national authorities to assess these and their concrete 
impacts in the national context. A first step in this respect, already 
done by a number of Member States, is to set up expert groups to 
assess these and make specific proposals. 

66 The good practice scenario means benchmarking to a successful 

taxation practice in another Member State. 

Figure 9: Environmental tax revenues as a share of total 
revenues from taxes and social contributions  (excluding 
imputed social contributions) in 201467 

Green Public Procurement  

The  EU  green  public  procurement  policies  encourage 
Member States to take further steps to reach the target 
of applying green procurement criteria to at least 50% of 
public tenders. 

Green  Public  Procurement  (GPP)  is  a  process  whereby 
public  authorities  seek  to  procure  goods,  services  and 
works  with  a  reduced  environmental  impact  throughout 
their  life-cycle  when  compared  to  goods,  services  and 
works  with  the  same  primary  function  that  would 
otherwise be procured.  

The  purchasing  power  of  public  procurement  in  the  EU 
equals to approximately 14% of GDP68. A substantial part 

67 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, accessed October 2016 
68 European Commission, 2015. Public procurement 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
Croatia  20 

funds 

period), 

pre-accession 

Having in mind that Croatia has acceded to the EU in the 
(last  six  months  of  2007-2013 
second  half  2013 
programming 
for 
environment were almost doubled with CF contribution, 
so Croatia has an extra one year (compared to EU 27 MS) 
for  utilisation  of  available  funds  (end  2016).  Current 
estimation73  of  Croatian  authorities  envisages  almost 
100%  utilisation  of  available  funds  by  the  end  of  2016. 
The  actual  figures  for  use  will  be  known  later  (HR  to 
report by 03/2018), but it seems that all results planned 
under  OPE  2007-2013  will  be  achieved  (some  delayed 
projects will be finished and their results reported under 
for 
2014-2020  OP  Cohesion  and  competitiveness 
Croatia).  

Figure  10:  European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds 
2014-2020: Budget Croatia by theme, EUR billion74 

this  money 

is  spent  on  sectors  with  high 
of 
environmental impact such as construction or transport, 
so  GPP  can  help  to  significantly  lower  the  impact  of 
public  spending  and 
innovative 
businesses.  The  Commission  has  proposed  EU  GPP 
criteria69. 

foster  sustainable 

first  National  action  plan 

The 
for  green  public 
procurement  for  the  period  from  2015  –  2017  was 
adopted by the Croatian government in August 2015. 

The  EU  GPP criteria  are  recommended  for  the  following 
product  groups:  copying  and  graphic  paper,  transport 
(motor  vehicles),  electricity,  cleaning  products  and 
services, telecommunication services and mobile phones, 
office and IT equipment70. 

Investments: the contribution of EU funds  

European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  Regulations 
provide  that  Member  States  promote  environment  and 
funding  strategies  and 
climate  objectives 
territorial 
programmes 
cohesion,  rural  development  and  maritime  policy,  and 
reinforce the capacity of implementing bodies to deliver 
cost-effective and sustainable investments in these areas. 

in  their 
for  economic, 

social  and 

Making  good  use  of  the  European  Structural  and 
Investment  Funds  (ESIF)71  is  essential  to  achieve  the 
environmental goals and integrate these into other policy 
areas.  Other  instruments  such  as  the  Horizon  2020,  the 
LIFE  programme  and  the  EFSI72  may  also  support 
implementation and spread of best practice. 

The  European  Commission  has  adopted  a  Partnership 
Agreement  with  Croatia  in  October  2014.  It  stablishes  a 
national strategy for the use of ESIF and mechanisms to 
ensure compliance with the European Union Strategy for 
Smart,  Sustainable,  and  Inclusive  Growth  (Europe  2020 
strategy). 

The total amount of the indicative allocation for all of the 
ESIF is EUR 10.7 billion (see Figure 10) for the 2014-2020 
period.  By  the  end  2015,  Croatia  spent  EUR  120  million 
(more than  42%)  out  of  EUR  281 million  allocation from 
Operational  Programme  Environment  (OPE),  financed  
under 2007-2013 Cohesion Fund (without pre-financing).  

69 In the Communication “Public procurement for a better environment” 
(COM /2008/400) the Commission recommended the creation of a 
process for setting common GPP criteria. The basic concept of GPP 
relies on having clear, verifiable, justifiable and ambitious 
environmental criteria for products and services, based on a life-cycle 
approach and scientific evidence base. 

70 European Commission, 2015. Documentation on National GPP Action 

Plans 

71 ESIF comprises five funds – the European Regional Development 
Funds (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Social Fund 
(ESF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 
(EAFRD), and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The 
ERDF, the CF and the ESF together form the Cohesion Policy funds. 

72 European Investment Bank, 2016 European Fund for Strategic 

The largest amount of ESI Funds investment is focused on 
the  thematic  objective  "Preserving  and  protecting  the 
environment  and  promoting 
resource  efficiency", 
accounting for over 20% of all the investments under ESI 
Funds.  The  biggest  amount 
is  allocated  under  the 
Cohesion  Fund,  EUR  1.65  billion,  followed  by  the 
European  Regional  Development  Fund,  EUR  338  million. 
for  Rural 
Under 
the  European  Agricultural  Fund 
Development  EUR  270  million  are  allocated 
for 
environmental  measures  and  EUR  66  million  under  the 
European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.  

73 Monitoring Committee Meeting for OP Environment 2007-2013, held 

in Zagreb on 23 November 2016 

74 European Commission, European Structural and Investment Funds 

Investments 

Data By Country 

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Croatia  21 

The  budget  for  agri-environmental-climate  measure 
represents 5.8% of the total EAFRD budget. The measure 
on natural constraints takes up 13.5% of the total EAFRD 
(and  does  not  need  to  present  its  link  to  biodiversity 
conservation).    Croatia  needs  to  tackle  specific  need  of 
demining  its  area,  for  which  (demining  of  agricultural 
land) also the RDP resources are used. 

Small  agri-environment  climate  measure  offers  support 
for  targeted  schemes.  According  to  the  Ministry  of 
Agriculture, the uptake was very low in 2015 and they are 
going 
in  proactively  contacting  potential 
beneficiaries  with  particular  natural  assets  to  take  a 
contract-the approach is appreciated. 

to  step 

Ca  1%  of  the  total  EAFRD  budget  is  dedicated  to  non-
productive 
investments,  among  them  restoration  of 
habitats  and  provision  of  Tornjak  dogs  and  mechanical 
tools  in  areas  of  presence  of  large  carnivores-as  well 
appreciated.  Croatia  for  the  action  on  modernisation  of 
irrigation proposed min potential water savings of 25%. 

With regard to the integration of environmental concerns 
into  the  Common  Agricultural  Policy  (CAP),  the  two  key 
areas  for  Croatia  (as  for  all  Member  States)  are,  first, 
using Rural Development funds to pay for environmental 
land  management  and  other  environmental  measures, 
while  avoiding  financing  measures  which  could  damage 
the  environment;  and  secondly,  ensuring  an  effective 
implementation of the first pillar of the CAP with regard 
to  cross  compliance  and  1st  pillar  'greening'.  30%  of 
direct payment envelope (out of total EUR 1.22 billion for 
2015-2020,  source:  Commission  delegated  regulation 
(EU)  2015/851)) 
is  allocated  to  greening  practices 
beneficial  for  the  environment.  An  environmentally 
ambitious  implementation  of  1st  pillar  greening  would 
clearly  help  to  improve  the  environmental  situation  in 
areas  not  covered  by  rural  development, 
including 
intensive area, and if appropriate Croatia could review its 
implementation of this. 

For  the  year  2015  Croatia  made  it  possible  to  use  13 
elements laid down by the regulation as ecological focus 
area  (EFA)  (out  of  possible  19  elements).  Croatia 
activated short rotation coppice as EFA with ban on use 
of fertilisers and pesticides. Catch crops and unambitious 
nitrogen  fixing  crops  (also  soybean-  with  no  biodiversity 
benefits)  are  possible  choices.  80%  of  Natura  2000 
grasslands were designated as environmentally sensitive, 
0 ha designated outside Natura 2000.  

These  allocations  will  mostly  be  used  for  investments  in 
the  waste  management,  water  supply  and  waste  water 
collection  and  treatment 
infrastructure,  nature  and 
biodiversity  protection  and  development  of  the  tourism 
In  the  waste  sector, 
potential  of  natural  areas. 
investments are envisaged for the construction of waste 
(WMCs),  remediation  of  the 
management  centres 
locations  highly  polluted  by  waste 
(“hot  spot”), 
remediation of the municipal waste landfills, and projects 
in  the  field  of  waste  prevention  and  recycling.  In  the 
water  sector  several  major  projects  are  planned  related 
to  development/  construction/  reconstruction  of  water 
supply  and/or  wastewater  systems.  Additional  attention 
will  be  paid  to  the  protection  and  enhancement  of 
biodiversity,  nature  protection  and  green  infrastructure, 
and for the protection, restoration and sustainable use of 
Natura 2000 sites. 

expected 

The 
in 
environmental sectors is the achievement of targets such 
as: 

investments 

impact  of 

the 

  10 new waste management centres established and 

 

fully operational (2023); 
Share of municipal waste deposited onto or into land 
reduced from 83% (2012) to 35% (2023); 

  Additional waste recycling capacity of 30.000 tonnes 

per year; 

  Additional  1  million  inhabitants  served  by  improved 
water  supply  and  improved  wastewater  treatment 
(2023); 

  40% of the Natura 2000 management framework in 
place Natura 2000 management framework in place 
as  a  basis  for  conservation  actions  according  to  the 
obligations in the acquis (2023); 

  358  hectares  surface  area  of  habitats  supported  to 

attain a better conservation status (2023). 

The criteria of the ex ante conditionalities75 for all three 
environmental areas76 - Water, Waste, EIA and SEA - are 
partially  or  not  fulfilled.  The  appropriate  Action  Plans 
have  been  prepared  by  the  competent  authorities  and 
have to be  implemented so that access to EU funding is 
ensured.  While  a  progress  has  been  made  in  certain 
areas,  the  Action  Plan  on  waste  is  seriously  lagging 
behind. 

The  National  Rural  Development  Program  (RDP)  of 
Croatia,  its  EARDF  part,  amounts  to  2,026,222,500.00  EUR 
(after the 1st modification).  

75 The Fifth Cohesion Report identified the main purpose of ex ante 

conditionalities (ExACs) as helping "countries and regions to tackle 
the problems that past experience has shown to be particularly 
relevant to policy implementation. These principles could be linked 
to, for example, transposition of specific EU legislation, the financing 
of strategic EU projects, or administrative, evaluation and 
institutional capacity." 

76 The existence of arrangements for the effective application of Union 
environmental legislation related to EIA and SEA, Water and Waste. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
                                                            
5. Effective governance and knowledge

Croatia  22 

SDG  16  aims  at  providing  access  to  justice  and  building 
effective,  accountable  and  inclusive  institutions  at  all 
levels. SDG 17 aims at better implementation, improving 
policy  coordination  and  policy  coherence,  stimulating 
science, 
innovation,  establishing 
partnerships and developing measurements of progress. 

technology 

and 

Effective governance of EU environmental legislation and 
policies  requires  having  an  appropriate 
institutional 
framework,  policy  coherence  and  coordination,  applying 
legal  and  non-legal  instruments,  engaging  with  non-
governmental  stakeholders,  and  having  adequate  levels 
of  knowledge  and  skills77.  Successful  implementation 
depends, to a large extent, on central, regional and local 
government  fulfilling  key  legislative  and  administrative 
implementing 
tasks,  notably  adoption  of 
legislation,  co-ordinated  action  to  meet  environmental 
objectives  and  correct  decision-making  on  matters  such 
as  industrial  permits.  Beyond  fulfilment  of  these  tasks, 
to  ensure  day-to-day 
government  must 
compliance  by  economic  operators,  utilities  and 
individuals  ("compliance  assurance").  Civil  society  also 
has  a  role  to  play,  including  through  legal  action.  To 
underpin the roles of all actors, it is crucial to collect and 
share  knowledge  and  evidence  on  the  state  of  the 
environment  and  on  environmental  pressures,  drivers 
and impacts. 

intervene 

sound 

Equally,  effective  governance  of  EU  environmental 
legislation  and  policies  benefits  from  a  dialogue  within 
Member  States  and  between  Member  States  and  the 
Commission  on  whether  the  current  EU  environmental 
legislation  is  fit  for  purpose.  Legislation  can  only  be 
properly 
into  account 
experiences  at  Member  State  level  with  putting  EU 
commitments  into  effect.  The  Make  it  Work  initiative,  a 
in  2014, 
Member  State  driven  project,  established 
organizes a discussion on how the clarity, coherence and 
structure  of  EU  environmental 
legislation  can  be 
improved without lowering existing protection standards. 

implemented  when 

it  takes 

Effective  governance  within  central,  regional 
and local government 

Those  involved  in  implementing  environment  legislation 
at  Union,  national,  regional  and  local  levels  need  to  be 
equipped  with  the  knowledge,  tools  and  capacity  to 
improve  the  delivery  of  benefits  from  that  legislation, 
and the governance of the enforcement process. 

Capacity to implement rules 
central, 
It 

crucial 

that 

is 

regional  and 

local 

administrations  have  the  necessary  capacities  and  skills 
and training to carry out their own tasks and co-operate 
and  co-ordinate  effectively  with  each  other,  within  a 
system of multi-level governance. 
The transposition of the revised EIA Directive78 will be an 
opportunity  to  streamline  the  regulatory  framework  on 
environmental assessments. The Commission encourages 
the  streamlining  of  the  environmental  assessments  to 
avoid  overlaps 
in  environmental  assessments  and 
accelerate  decision-making,  without  compromising  the 
quality of the environmental assessment procedure. The 
Commission  has  issued  a  guidance  document  in  2016 
regarding  the  setting  up  of  coordinated  and/or  joint 
procedures 
to 
assessments  under  the  EIA  Directive,  Habitats  Directive, 
Water Framework Directive, and the Industrial Emissions 
Directive79. 

simultaneously 

that  are 

subject 

in 

for 

capacity 

the  ex-ante  conditionalities 

the 
As  part  of 
programming  period  2014  -  2020,  Croatia  has  assessed 
the  Ministry  of 
the  administrative 
Environmental  and  Nature  Protection 
(MENP)  as 
adequate. However, the accession to the EU has brought 
new  challenges  which  require  more  capacity.  Since 
Croatia’s  accession, 
the  number  of  civil  service 
employees has been increased but not sufficiently to deal 
the 
with 
implementation  of  EU  projects  and  the  alignment  with 
the EU environmental legislation.  

increased  workload 

related 

the 

to 

Under  the Operational Programme  Competitiveness  and 
Cohesion for the period 2014-2020 Croatia can use funds 
for  strengthening  the  administrative  and  technical 
capacities  of  institutions  responsible  for  implementation 
and enforcement of environmental related policies. 

is  a 

There 
specialized  Sector  of  Environmental 
Assessment  and  Industrial  Pollution  in  the  MENP.  It 
consists  of  two  specialized  services,  one  of  which  is  in 
charge of the environmental assessments. The Service of 

77 The Commission has work ongoing to improve the country-specific 
knowledge about quality and functioning of the administrative 
systems of Member States. 

78 The transposition of Directive 2014/52/EU is due in May 2017 
79 European Commission, 2016 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
                                                            
 
                                                            
is  carried  by 

Environmental Assessment has separate departments for 
the  strategic  environmental  assessment  and 
the 
environmental 
impact  assessment.  They  have  an 
adequate  administrative  capacity  to  give  practical  and 
legal  advice  on  applicability  of  the  EIA/SEA  Directives 
which  are  being  continuously  strengthened.  Strategic 
environmental  assessment 
sectoral 
competent  authorities  on  central,  regional  and  local 
level. Environmental impact assessment is carried out by 
MENP and by regional environmental authorities. Having 
in  mind  a  limited  experience  with  carrying  out  the 
strategic  environmental  assessments,  several  trainings 
have  been  carried  out  for  the  employees  of  the  MENP 
and other competent authorities on central, regional and 
local 
level.  At  MENP  website  several  guidelines 
documents  are  available  to  the  authorities  applying  the 
EIA/SEA. 

the 

responsible 

institutions 
facing 

for  public 
Some  of 
procurement  are 
insufficient  administrative 
capacity  and  a  need  for  additional  training.  This  often 
in 
leads  to  faulty  tender  documentation,  resulting 
lengthy appeals and even cancellations of tenders. This is 
a  bottleneck  for  the  use  of  ESI  Funds,  in  particular  in 
heavy-infrastructure  sectors  such  as  waste  and  water 
management. 

The  capacity  of  the  administrative  bodies  that  are 
implementing  nature  directives  is  very  limited  on  both 
national and local levels and not sufficient in view of the 
required work to fulfil the legal obligations, in particular 
with  regard  to  the  capacities  to  ensure  smooth  and 
quality  appropriate  assessments  of  plans  and  projects' 
implications for the site.  

Competences  are  divided  among  several  Ministries  and 
among national, regional and local level.  

Under  the  Accession  Treaty,  Croatia  benefits  from  a 
number of environmental transitional measures, most of 
them  still  active.  Current  progress  with  meeting  the 
transitional  targets  raises  doubts  as  to  whether  Croatia 
will be ready to comply fully with the requirements of the 
legislation,  after  the  expiry  of  the 
environmental 
transitional measures. This is especially the case for: 

 

 

reaching  the  final  goal  that  maximum  35%  of 
biodegradable  municipal  waste  is  landfilled,  by  31 
December 2020; 
gradual  reduction  of  waste 
compliant  (substandard) 
comply by 31 December 2018. 

in  non-
landfills  to 

landfills,  all 

landfilled 

  Urban  Waste  Water  Treatment  Directive  91/271, 
gradual  compliance  with  the  requirements  for 
collecting  systems  and  treatment,  final  compliance 
by 1 January 2024. 
Industrial  Emissions  Directive  2010/75  (replacing 
limitations,  Large 
Directive  1999/13  on  VOC 
IPPC 
Combustion  Plant  Directive  2001/80,  and 

 

Croatia  23 

Directive  2008/1):  transition  periods  for  certain 
installations  to  comply  with 
limitation  of  VOC 
emissions  and  usage  of  BAT-s  by  1  January  2016;  1 
large 
January  2018  as  a  final  date  for  certain 
limits  of 
combustion  plants  regarding  emission 
sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and dust, as well as 
for  certain  installations  regarding  permitting  in  line 
with IPPC Directive.  

Croatia's transposition record is good. A small number of 
late  transposition  cases  are  solved  at  the  early  stage  of 
the 
from 
infringement  procedure.  The  pressure 
complaints and petitions is relatively low. 

Conformity checking is the Commission’s priority. In that 
respect,  more 
investigations  and  potential  non-
conformity infringements can be expected.  

Croatia  engages  in  constructive  cooperation  with  the 
Commission  with  the  goal  of  rectifying  the  non-
conformities  of  national  legislation  and  shows  readiness 
to  amend  the  legislation.  However,  Croatia  often  does 
not respect its own deadlines. The delays might be partly 
due  to  scarce  administrative  capacities  of  the  ministries 
and  burdensome  and 
legislative 
procedure.  The  recent  governmental  changes  created 
additional delays in reaching conformity. 

lengthy  national 

Suggested action 

  Croatia 

from 
in 

strengthening 
the  Ministry 

could  benefit 
capacity 

the 
administrative 
of 
Environmental  and  Nature  Protection,  as  this  would 
affect positively the use of EU Funds and speed up the 
alignment  with  the  EU  environmental  policies  and 
legislation. 

Coordination and integration 
Impact  assessments  are 
environmental integration in all government policies80.  

important  tools  to  ensure 

The  Commission  assessed  the  transposition  of  the 
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive and the 
Strategic  Environmental  Assessment  (SEA)  Directive  in 
Croatia. While Croatia has aligned the national legislation 
with the SEA Directive, additional efforts are necessary to 
reach the full conformity with the EIA Directive. It is of a 
great  importance  to  reach  the  full  conformity  with  the 
EIA  Directive  promptly.  EIA  Directive  represents  a 
legislation, 
fundamental  environmental  piece  of 
applicable  to  a  wide  range  of  projects  and  its  proper 
transposition  and 
important 
implementation 
contributor to sustainable development. The revised EIA 
Directive  2014/52/EU,  which  Croatia  plans  to  transpose 
in the first quarter 2017, could be used as an opportunity 
environmental 
to 

streamline 

different 

further 

is  an 

80 Article 11 of the TFEU provides that "Environmental protection 

requirements must be integrated into the definition and 
implementation of the Union's policies and activities, in particular 
with a view to promoting sustainable development." 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
                                                            
assessments and consequently to enhance the efficiency 
of the environmental pillar of project development.  

Compliance assurance 

EU  law  generally  and  specific  provisions  on  inspections, 
other  checks,  penalties  and  environmental  liability  help 
lay  the  basis  for  the  systems  Member  States  need  to 
have 
secure  compliance  with  EU 
to 
environmental rules. 

in  place 

Public  authorities  help  ensure  accountability  of  duty-
holders by monitoring and promoting compliance and by 
taking credible follow-up action (i.e. enforcement) when 
breaches occur or liabilities arise. Compliance monitoring 
can  be  done  both  on  the 
initiative  of  authorities 
themselves and  in  response to  citizen complaints. It  can 
involve  using  various  kinds  of  checks, 
including 
inspections  for  permitted  activities,  surveillance  for 
possible  illegal  activities,  investigations  for  crimes  and 
audits for systemic weaknesses. Similarly, there is a range 
of  means  to  promote  compliance,  including  awareness-
raising  campaigns  and  use  of  guidance  documents  and 
online  information  tools.  Follow-up  to  breaches  and 
liabilities  can 
(e.g. 
withdrawal of a permit), use of criminal law81 and action 
law  (e.g.  required  remediation  after 
under 
damage  from  an  accident  using 
liability  rules)  and 
contractual  law  (e.g.  measures  to  require  compliance 
with  nature  conservation  contracts).  Taken  together,  all 
of these interventions represent "compliance assurance" 
as shown in Figure 11. 

include  administrative  action 

liability 

Figure 11: Environmental compliance assurance 

Best  practice  has  moved  towards  a  risk-based  approach 
at strategic and operational levels in which the best mix 
of compliance monitoring, promotion and enforcement is 
directed at the most serious problems. Best practice also 
recognises  the  need  for  coordination  and  cooperation 
between  different  authorities  to  ensure  consistency, 
avoid  duplication  of  work  and  reduce  administrative 
burden. Active participation in established pan-European 

81European Union, Environmental Crime Directive 2008/99/EC 

Croatia  24 

networks  of  inspectors,  police,  prosecutors  and  judges, 
such as IMPEL82, EUFJE83, ENPE84 and EnviCrimeNet85, is a 
valuable tool for sharing experience and good practices. 

Currently, there exist a number of sectoral obligations on 
inspections  and  the  EU  directive  on  environmental 
liability  (ELD)86  provides  a  means  of  ensuring  that  the 
"polluter-pays  principle" 
is  applied  when  there  are 
accidents  and  incidents  that  harm  the  environment. 
information  giving 
There 
insights  into  existing  strengths  and  weaknesses  in  each 
Member State.  

is  also  publically  available 

For  each  Member  State,  the  following  were  therefore 
reviewed:  use  of  risk-based  compliance  assurance; 
coordination  and  co-operation  between  authorities  and 
participation in pan-European networks; and key aspects 
of implementation of the ELD based on the Commission's 
recently  published  implementation  report  and  REFIT 
evaluation87.  

Information  is  lacking  for  the  period  since  Croatia's 
accession  to  the  EU  in  2013,  but  in  the  period  prior  to 
accession  Croatia  had  already  put  in  place  some  risk 
assessment  tools  to  prioritise  and  target  inspections  of 
industrial 
these  were 
incomplete88 and a need for a more strategic approach as 
well  as  for  a  more  systematic  performance  evaluation 
was identified89.  

installations. 

However, 

Up-to-date  information  is  lacking  in  relation  to  the 
following: 

  data-collection  arrangements  to  track  the  use  and 
effectiveness  of  different  compliance  assurance 
interventions; 

  the extent to which risk-based methods are used to 
direct  compliance  assurance  at  the  strategic  level 
and in relation to specific problem-areas highlighted 
elsewhere  in  this  Country  Report,  i.e.  air  quality 
breaches  and  the  pressures  on  water  quality  from 
diffuse water pollution; 

  how the Croatian authorities ensure a targeted and 
proportionate  response  to  different  types  of  non-
compliant behaviour, given indications that there is 
a 
low  probability  of  being  prosecuted  and 
sentenced for environmental offences90.  

82 European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of 

Environmental Law 

83 European Union Forum of judges for the environment 
84 The European Network of Prosecutors for the Environment 
85 EnviCrimeNet 
86 European Union, Environmental Liability Directive 2004/35/CE 
87 COM(2016)204 final and COM(2016)121 final of 14.4.2016. This 

highlighted the need for better evidence on how the directive is used 
in practice; for tools to support its implementation, such as guidance, 
training and ELD registers; and for financial security to be available in 
case events or incidents generate remediation costs. 

88 IMPEL IRI Report Croatia, 2011, p. 33-34.  
89 IMPEL IRI Report Croatia, 2011, p. 42-43.  
90 IMPEL IRI Report Croatia, 2011, p. 42.  

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
Croatia  25 

Pre-accession,  a  detailed  agreement  on  cooperation 
between inspection services in the field of environment' 
was  in  place  to  guide  coordinated  joint  inspections  and 
resolve  competence  questions,  with  a  separate  annual 
plan  and  an  annual  report  on  coordinated  inspections 
published  online91.  Croatia  is  active  within  IMPEL  and 
hosted in 2011 an IMPEL peer review.  

Given  its  2013  accession,  Croatia  was  not  required  to 
submit  an  implementation  report  on  the  Environmental 
Liability  Directive.  It  is  understood  that  Croatia  has  not 
yet  applied  the  Directive  to  a  case  of  environmental 
damage and that an effective system of financial security 
has still to be established.  

Suggested action  

  Improve transparency on organisation and functioning 
of compliance assurance system and on how significant 
risks are addressed, as outlined above. 

  Encourage 
authorities 
EnviCrimeNet.  

greater  participation  of 
competent 
in  the  activities  of  ENPE,  EUFJE  and 

  While  more  time  is  needed  for  Croatia  to  implement 
the  Environmental  Liability  Directive  due  to  its  later 
accession  to  the  EU,  Croatia  should  step  up  efforts  in 
implementation  of  the  Environmental  Liability 
the 
Directive  (ELD)  with  proactive  initiatives,  in  particular 
by  setting  up  a  national  register  of  ELD  incidents  and 
drafting  national  guidance.  It  should  moreover  take 
further steps to ensure an effective system of financial 
security for environmental liabilities (so that operators 
not  only  have  insurance  cover  available  to  them  but 
actually take it up). 

Public participation and access to justice 

The  Aarhus  Convention,  related  EU  legislation  on  public 
participation and environmental impact assessment, and 
the case-law of the Court of Justice require that citizens 
and  their  associations  should  be  able  to  participate  in 
decision-making  on  projects  and  plans  and  should  enjoy 
effective environmental access to justice. 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they can rely on the three "pillars" of the Convention on 
Access  to  Information,  Public  Participation  in  Decision-
making  and  Access  to  Justice  in  Environmental  Matters 
("the  Aarhus  Convention").  Public  participation  in  the 
administrative  decision  making  process  is  an  important 
element to ensure that the authority takes its decision on 
the  best  possible  basis.  The  Commission  intends  to 
examine compliance with mandatory public participation 
requirements more systematically at a later stage. 

Access  to  justice  in  environmental  matters  is  a  set  of 
guarantees  that  allows  citizens  and  their  associations  to 

91 IMPEL IRI Report Croatia, 2011, p. 27.  

challenge  acts  or  omissions  of  the  public  administration 
before  a  court. 
for  decentralised 
It 
implementation of EU environmental law. 

is  a 

tool 

For  each  Member  State,  two  crucial  elements  for 
effective  access  to  justice  have  been  systematically 
reviewed:  the  legal  standing  for  the  public,  including 
NGOs and the extent to which prohibitive costs represent 
a barrier. 

The general system of access to courts in Croatia for the 
purpose  of  judicial  review  is  interest-based  and  rights-
based  which  generally  offers  a  wider  access.  Although 
the Environmental Protection Act grants a wide access to 
justice  to  environmental  NGOs,  they  seem  to  have  no 
access  to 
later  stages  of  a  project 
authorisation  (e.g.  at  the  stage  of  issuance  of  a  location 
permit  and  a  construction  permit).The  costs  of 
environmental  proceedings  are  also  not  considered  as 
prohibitively high92. 

justice  at  the 

Access 
evidence 

to 

information,  knowledge  and 

The  Aarhus  Convention  and  related  EU  legislation  on 
access  to  information  and  the  sharing  of  spatial  data 
require that the public has access to clear information on 
the environment, including on how Union environmental 
law is being implemented. 

authorities 

public 
the  public, 

and 
increasingly 

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and business that environmental information is shared in 
an  efficient  and  effective  way.  This  covers  reporting  by 
active 
and 
businesses 
dissemination 
through 
to 
electronic means. 
The  Aarhus  Convention93,  the  Access  to  Environmental 
Information  Directive94  and  the 
INSPIRE  Directive95 
together  create  a  legal  foundation  for  the  sharing  of 
environmental  information  between  public  authorities 
and with the public. They also represent the green part of 
the  ongoing  EU  e-Government  Action  Plan96.  The  first 
two 
to  provide 
information  to  the  public,  both  on  request  and  actively. 
The  INSPIRE  Directive  is  a  pioneering  instrument  for 
electronic  data-sharing  between  public  authorities  who 
can  vary  in  their  data-sharing  policies,  e.g.  on  whether 
access to data is for free. The INSPIRE Directive sets up a 

create  obligations 

instruments 

92 European Commission, 2012/2013 access to justice in environmental 

matters  

93 UNECE, 1998. Convention on Access to Information, Public 
Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in 
Environmental Matters 

94 European Union, Directive 2003/4/EC on public access to 

environmental information 

95 European Union, INSPIRE Directive 2007/2/EC  
96 European Union, EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020 - 

Accelerating the digital transformation of government COM(2016) 
179 final 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia 

 
                                                            
                                                            
Croatia  26 

geoportal which indicates the level of shared spatial data 
in  each  Member  State  –  i.e.  data  related  to  specific 
locations,  such  as  air  quality  monitoring  data.  Amongst 
other  benefits 
it  facilitates  the  public  authorities' 
reporting obligations.  

For  each  Member 
accessibility  of 
State, 
environmental data (based on what the INSPIRE Directive 
envisages)  as  well  as  data-sharing  policies  ('open  data') 
have been systematically reviewed97.  

the 

are 

still 

obstacles 

procedural 

Croatia's  performance  on  the  implementation  of  the 
INSPIRE  Directive  as  enabling  framework  to  actively 
disseminate  environmental  information  to  the  public 
leaves  room  for  further 
improvement.  Croatia  has 
indicated in the 3-yearly INSPIRE implementation report98 
that  the  necessary  data-sharing  policies  allowing  access 
and use of spatial data by national administrations, other 
institutions 
Member  States'  administrations  and  EU 
without 
under 
development.  Initiatives  for  setting  up  data  sharing 
arrangements  have  been  initiated  trying  to  overcome 
use 
such 
identified 
limitations/restrictions,  lack  of  human  capacity,  lack  of 
licensing policy, pricing and funding policies. 
Assessments  of  monitoring  reports99  issued  by  Croatia 
and the spatial information that Croatia has published on 
the  INSPIRE  geoportal100  indicate  that  not  all  spatial 
information 
and 
for 
implementation of EU environmental law has been made 
available  or  is  accessible.  The  larger  part  of  this  missing 
spatial  information  consists  of  the  environmental  data 
required  to  be  made  available  under  the  existing 
EU 
reporting 
environmental law. 

and  monitoring 

regulations 

evaluation 

barriers 

needed 

public 

the 

as: 

of 

Suggested action 

  Critically  review  the  effectiveness  of  its  data  policies 
into 
taking 

'best  practices' 

them, 

and  amend 
consideration.  

  Identify and document all spatial data sets required for 
the  implementation  of  environmental  law,  and  make 
the  data  and  documentation  at  least  accessible  'as  is' 
to  other  public  authorities  and  the  public  through  the 
digital services foreseen in the INSPIRE Directive.  

97 Upon request by the Commission, most Member States provided an 
INSPIRE Action Plan addressing implementation issues. These plans 
are currently being assessed by the Commission. 

98 European Commission, INSPIRE reports 
99 Inspire indicator trends  
100 Inspire Resources Summary Report 

Environmental Implementation Report – Croatia