Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

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# 52012DC0186

**COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Monitoring report on Croatia’s accession preparations /\* COM/2012/0186 final \*/**

  

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

Monitoring report on Croatia’s accession
preparations

1.           Introduction

Accession negotiations with Croatia were
closed, with the agreement of all Member States, in June 2011, as a result of
Croatia fulfilling all the benchmarks set in the negotiating chapters. On this
basis, the Accession Treaty was signed by Member States and Croatia on 9
December 2011, and Croatia will become a Member of the European Union on 1 July
2013, subject to ratification by the national parliaments of all Members
States.

In the course of the negotiations, Croatia
has agreed to a number of commitments, which have to be implemented by the date
of accession, at the latest, unless specific transitional arrangements have
been agreed.

According to Article 36 of the Act of
Accession, the Commission shall closely monitor all commitments undertaken by
Croatia in the accession negotiations focusing in particular on competition
policy, judiciary and fundamental rights, and freedom security and justice. The
Act further provides that as an integral part of its regular monitoring tables
and reports the Commission shall issue six-monthly assessments up to accession
on the implementation of these commitments undertaken by Croatia in these
areas.

In line with Article 36 of the Act of
Accession, this report assesses the progress made by Croatia in its
preparations for accession in the period 1 September 2011 to 29 February 2012,
provides an overall assessment of the level of preparedness for membership and
highlights the areas where further efforts are necessary in order for Croatia
to be ready for membership on 1 July 2013.

This assessment is based on information
gathered and analysed by the Commission, including input provided by Croatia,
as well as information shared by Member States, international and civil society
organisations in their regular contacts with the Commission. The assessment is
also based on the Commission's findings in its updated Monitoring Tables, a working
tool aimed at following up in detail on all commitments undertaken by Croatia
in the context of the negotiations. The Monitoring Tables are updated every six
months.

Through this report, the Commission also
wishes to assist Croatia in its further preparation for membership.

2.           commitments and requirements arising
from the accession negotiations

2.1.        Competition policy

Croatia
is generally making progress towards meeting the commitments and requirements
arising from the accession negotiations for this chapter. Croatia can be
considered broadly on track in its preparations for membership in the field of
competition policy.

Croatia has
pursued its efforts to build a positive enforcement record in the field of anti-trust,
including mergers as well as state aid. Croatia's Competition Agency
is fully operational and functionally independent; it carries out its duties in
line with the legislation in force. A proper system of merger and state aid
control is in place.

With regard to
Croatia's reporting obligations on the steel and shipbuilding sectors, the
first reports have been submitted to the Commission in line with the
requirements set during the negotiations. The first report on the steel
industry, sent to the Commission on 15 December 2011, is complete and fulfils
Croatia's commitment to inform the Commission on the state of the recovery of state
aid, plus compound interest, received by the steel mill CMC Sisak. CMC Sisak
has yet to reimburse the aid received. In October 2011, the owners decided to
close and sell the steel mill, resulting in production being completely halted.
The report also provides updated information on the bankruptcy proceedings of the
other steel mill, Željezara Split.

On 16 January
2012, Croatia submitted the first six monthly report on the restructuring of
the Croatian shipyards in difficulty as requested by Annex VIII of the Act of
Accession. The report contains data on the measures taken to return to
viability, used aid, own contribution and capacity production, following the
methodology on monitoring implementation by Croatia agreed with the Commission
services. The report also provides details on the agreements regulating
property law.

In March 2012,
the bid for the shipyard Brodosplit was accepted and Croatia has
indicated that the privatisation contract will be finalised without delay, and
submitted to the Commission for acceptance. However, the bids for the shipyards
Kraljevica and Brodotrogir were rejected by the government and the
bid for the shipyard 3.Maj was withdrawn by the potential investor. The
government has decided to initiate the bankruptcy proceedings for Kraljevica
and to seek new privatisation and restructuring arrangements for 3.Maj
and Brodotrogir within 90 days.

·
Croatia should proceed with the signing of the
privatisation contract for Brodosplit and with finding a solution for 3.Maj
and Brodotrogir, as a matter of urgency in order to fulfil the
requirements of the Treaty Annex on the restructuring of the shipyards by the
date of Croatia's accession.

Finally, as
regards existing aid, Croatia has provided the Commission with a list of eleven
aid measures that it wishes to be considered as existing aid upon the date of
accession. Seven of these measures have been included in the Act of Accession.
The remaining are being assessed by the Commission.

2.2.        Judiciary and fundamental
rights

Croatia
is making progress towards meeting the commitments and requirements arising
from the accession negotiations on this chapter, as outlined in Annex VII to
the Act of Accession. Croatia can be considered broadly on track in its
preparations for membership in the field of judiciary and fundamental rights.

1)           To
continue to ensure effective implementation of its judicial reform strategy and
action plan

Implementation of the judicial reform
strategy and action plan has continued generally in line with foreseen
deadlines, including legislative fine-tuning in a number of areas. However, the
entry into force of the new system of public bailiffs, as part of the
enforcement reform, which is an important element of the strategy, has been
postponed (see also below under point 3).

· Croatia still needs to improve human resources planning, including
for the long-term needs of the judiciary.

2)           To continue to
strengthen the independence, accountability, impartiality and professionalism
of the judiciary

Implementation of the
various measures taken in 2010 and 2011 to strengthen the independence,
accountability, impartiality and professionalism of the judiciary has
continued. The reformed State Judicial Council (SJC) and State Prosecutorial
Council (SPC) have continued to function independently. Both bodies have
continued to appoint judicial officials based on transparent, uniform and
objective criteria.

·
However, improvements in the implementation of
the transitional system of appointments of judges are needed, including greater
transparency of marking oral interviews, with attention paid to ensuring equal
treatment of all candidates.

The Judicial Academy continues to function
well. However, enrolment of the second annual intake to the State School for
Judicial Officials has been delayed. The SJC has begun implementation of the
new system of assets declarations of judges. Disciplinary measures are being
instigated against errant judicial officials.

·
Secondary legislation needs to be amended to limit
the immunity of judges, hence completing the legislative framework in this
field and further guidance should be provided on the application of the code of
conduct.

·
The SJC and SPC need to be provided with further
administrative resources to function more effectively, including as regards
recruitment procedures and functioning of the school, the systematic and
accurate checking of assets declarations and pro-active application of
disciplinary procedures.

3)           To continue to improve the
efficiency of the judiciary

Croatia has continued to implement various measures aiming
at improving efficiency of the judiciary. The merger of courts as part
of the court rationalisation process is continuing. The enforcement of court
decisions has improved, in particular through the work of the financial agency
FINA. The entry into force of the new system of public bailiffs has been
postponed by six months to 1 July 2012. Some progress has been made with the physical infrastructure
and computerisation of courts. The Integrated Case Management System is
operational in about 60% of courts. Between December 2010 and December 2011,
the overall number of pending cases increased by 5.2%. There is a continuing
reduction in the backlog of old criminal cases, falling by 12.3% in the year to
December 2011. However, the number of old civil cases increased by 6.5% in the
same period, while the number of old civil cases at first instance courts fell
by 9.5%.

·
Attention needs to be paid to ensuring that
higher courts, including the Supreme Court, are adequately equipped to handle
the disproportionate increase as cases advance through the system.

The new system of administrative justice
entered into force on 1 January 2012, albeit with some delays in appointing the
necessary staff.

·
Croatia needs to continue to implement
efficiency measures with vigour, in particular to ensure improved rates of case
handling and reductions in the number of old cases.

4)           To continue to improve
the handling of domestic war crimes cases

Croatia has continued
to process war crimes cases, with further arrests,
indictments and court rulings, including in priority
cases identified at the national and regional level linked to the 2011 strategy
on impunity. Some prominent war crimes trials began, including against a former
Assistant Interior Minister and against two former policemen charged with
killing Serb civilians in the "Grubori" case. More cases were transferred to the specialised chambers. Measures have been
taken to protect witnesses with improved witness support services at certain
courts. The new Government has taken contact with Serbia and with Bosnia and
Herzegovina with the aim of addressing the potential negative implications of
the Law on invalidation of certain legal acts of the judicial bodies of the
Former Yugoslav National Army, the former Socialist Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia and of the Republic of Serbia adopted by the outgoing Croatian
Parliament in November 2011, on bilateral cooperation on war crimes cases.

·
However, tackling impunity for war crimes
remains a major challenge in Croatia, especially as the majority of crimes have
yet to be successfully prosecuted. Measures need to be taken to facilitate the
attendance of witnesses at trial, especially in cases relocated to the
specialised chambers.

5)           To continue to ensure a
sustained track record of substantial results based on efficient, effective and
unbiased investigation, prosecution and court rulings in organised crime and
corruption cases at all levels including high level corruption, and in
vulnerable sectors such as public procurement

An adequate
legal and institutional framework remains in place for the fight against
corruption and organised crime and a track record of implementation continues
to be developed. Law enforcement bodies remain active, especially on higher
level cases. Recent developments include a guilty verdict against a former
director of the State-owned power company, further indictments against local
mayors (Dubrovnik) and County Court judges (Split) for abuse of office and an indictment
for corruption against a political party. While the law enforcement bodies
continue focusing on more complex, higher level cases, the overall number of
cases being handled is reducing.

·
Vigilance is required as regards local level
corruption, in particular procurement cases. The implementation of the legal
framework on the seizure and confiscation of assets needs to be reinforced across
the board.

·
Further attention is needed to the system of
control of dismissal of criminal reports by the prosecutor.

A number of senior appointments were made
in the police by the outgoing administration.

·
Appointments and further police reforms will
require close attention, especially to ensure depoliticisation and increased
professionalism.

6)           To continue to improve
its track record of strengthened prevention measures in the fight against corruption
and conflict of interest

As regards the financing of political
parties and election campaigns, the State Electoral
Commission, the supervisory body, was strengthened and the new rules
from 2011 were applied without major difficulties in the general elections in
December 2011, with only a few shortcomings
identified. New rules on access to information are also being applied,
with the first appeals reaching court.

·
The practice of applying the public interest
test for classified information needs to be developed.

Public procurement legislation has been
aligned since January 2012 with the spring 2011 government ordinance providing
for increased transparency, including publication of information on the actual
execution of contracts. Little information has been made publicly available so
far.

·
Improved and stricter Conflict of Interest
legislation was adopted in early 2011, however the new Conflict of Interest
Commission has still not been appointed, thus protracting the implementation of
the law. A system of verification of assets declarations and unjustified wealth
remains to be strengthened.

First steps taken by the new Government
concerning conflict of interest rules are a cause of concern, in particular as
regards supervisory and management boards of public companies. Earlier
provisions on criteria for membership have been overturned.

·
Croatia needs to ensure that a strong system
is in place for preventing corruption in state owned companies.

·
The concept of political accountability and zero
tolerance of corruption needs to continue being developed.

7)           To continue to
strengthen the protection of minorities, including through effective
implementation of the Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities
(CARNM)

Protection
of minorities has continued to improve, through the continued implementation of
measures for the protection of minorities, including the
constitutional act on the rights of national minorities (CARNM). Eight members
of parliament representing national minorities were elected in December 2011.
Although not part of the ruling coalition, cooperation between the political
representatives of minorities and the government has started well. Some steps
have been taken by the government to implement the May 2011 plan for minority
employment for the period 2011-2014, under the CARNM.

·
However, actual recruitment of minorities
remains limited largely due to low recruitment levels. Stronger monitoring is
required in this area.

·
Croatia also needs to continue to foster a
spirit of tolerance towards minorities, in particular Croatian Serbs, and to
take appropriate measures to protect those who may still be subjected to
threats or acts of discrimination, hostility or violence. The Roma minority
faces particularly difficult living conditions, and challenges remain in the
areas of education, social protection, health care, employment and access to
personal documents.

8)           To continue to address
outstanding refugee return issues

Further progress has been made with regard to housing
issues. Housing care programmes for returnees continue to be implemented. 210 cases from the March 2011 plan for dealing with the approximately 2,350
remaining applications have been settled, out of which
86 families took over the keys. 1,012 positive approvals for housing care have been issued so far. Implementation of the decision on validating pension rights has
continued. Croatia has also continued to engage with its neighbours in the
Sarajevo Process where progress is being made, in particular on a major
regional housing project. There has been limited implementation of the new purchase options under favourable conditions for housing care
beneficiaries.

9)           To continue to improve
the protection of human rights

Human rights continue
to be generally well respected.

·
However, existing legal
provisions need to be applied with more vigour.

Croatia has further developed its track
record of implementation of the Anti-Discrimination Law and legislation on hate
crimes.

·
This needs to continue to develop, with
attention paid to ensuring dissuasive sanctions are applied.

In October 2011 a law was passed merging
the Office of the Ombudsman with the Centre for Human rights, as well as with
the three specialised Ombudspersons for gender equality, for children and for
disabled. In February, the Constitutional Court decided on procedural grounds, that
the law can not enter into force on 1 July 2012, as foreseen.

·
Once the legislative framework is in place, Croatia
should ensure that the merger of the offices is properly implemented.
Particular attention should be paid to ensuring that a stronger human rights
protection system emerges, and that adequate office premises, joint database
and clear financing are assured.

10)         To continue to cooperate
fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY)

Croatia's cooperation with the ICTY has continued. There
have been no particular developments with respect to Croatia's investigations
aimed at locating or determining the fate of missing military documents
requested by the Office of the ICTY Prosecutor. Croatia's request to act as amicus
curiae in the appeal against the verdict of 15 April 2011 against Croatian
Generals Gotovina and Markač verdict was rejected by the Court.

2.3.        Justice, freedom and
security

Croatia
is making progress towards meeting the commitments and requirements arising
from the accession negotiations for this chapter. Croatia can be considered on
track in its preparations for membership in the field of justice, freedom and
security.

With regard to migration, a new
Aliens Act was adopted on 28 October 2011 and has already entered into force,
further aligning Croatian legislation with the acquis in this field.

·
However, a migration strategy ensuring a broader
approach to protection of migrants and refugees has to be in place. Further
efforts are needed to solve the problems related to the construction of the
receptions centres, and to provide adequate assistance to unaccompanied minors.

In the field of asylum, preparations
for the implementation of the acquis on asylum are moving forward. Since
January 2012 the newly established administrative courts, for second instance
cases, are fully operational. The Presidents of all four courts have been
appointed, as well as 20 judges and 34 civil servants. In 2011, the number of
asylum requests has considerably increased, requiring enhancement of
administrative capacity in this field.

·
In particular, transfer of know-how from the
Asylum Commission to the Administrative Courts needs to be ensured, as well as
trainings for their new judges.

As for visa policy, Croatia's list
of countries whose nationals require a visa to enter its territory, remains
only partially aligned to that of the EU.

·
As regards document security, efforts to manage
the administration of biometric passports compliant with EU standards must continue,
as well as to phase out identity cards issued before 2003 and amend the legal
framework accordingly.

With regard to external borders and
Schengen, the process of alignment with the Schengen acquis has
continued by further improving the system of integrated border management.
Interagency cooperation, as well as coordination with the neighbouring
countries and EU bodies in this field has advanced.

Activities foreseen in the 2011 Integrated
Border Management (IBM) Action Plan have been partly implemented, however, some
delays can be reported on procurement of certain technical equipment and on
certain infrastructures. Amendments to the State Border Control Act were
adopted in October 2011 to introduce the second line check; its implementation still
needs to be supported by proper infrastructures. A system of risk analysis is
being implemented. Cooperation with FRONTEX has continued. Regular meetings
take place with relevant authorities of the neighbouring countries, as well as joint
patrols of border police. A common contact point office with Serbia has been
established in the Border Crossing Point (BCP) of Bajakovo. A first
coordination meeting with the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), to
implement the mutual agreement on state border control, was held in December
2011. Discussions with both countries, as well as with Montenegro, to bring
bilateral agreements on local border traffic in line with the EU acquis,
are advancing and should be finalised before accession. The Free Transit
Agreement with BiH should be brought in line with the EU acquis before
accession.

Border police numbers have increased and 308
border police officers have been recruited in 2011. Specialised trainings for
border police officers have not systematically been made part of the curriculum.
Installation of the National Border Management Information System (NBMIS) has
continued in 33 additional BCPs. At the end of February 2012 it was operational
in 74 BCPs, 38 of which are located at future EU external borders; the system
is not yet fully functional. At Neum, a 24 hour integrated border surveillance
system is in place. Construction work on the new BCPs is delayed, but expected
to be completed by the end of 2012. A video surveillance system for the green
border in Metkovic is operational. A first phase of establishing the National
Maritime Centre for Information Exchange, allowing tracking and monitoring of
vessels in the Croatian territory, has been completed.

·
The Centre needs to be reinforced with
specialised and trained staff. The inter-connection with the radars of the
relevant Ministries needs to be ensured.

·
Implementation of the IBM Action Plan needs to
continue on time and delays should be properly addressed. A comprehensive plan for
the renovation of borders' infrastructures should be prepared.

In the areas of judicial cooperation in
civil and criminal matters, an
agreement on mutual execution of criminal judgments with Montenegro, as well as
an extradition agreement with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, were signed in October 2011. A working group has been formed and has met
several times to prepare the new Act on international private law. Cooperation
with the European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters has
advanced.

·
Efforts need to continue to align legislation
and strengthen the institutional framework and the communication between
authorities on judicial cooperation.

With regard to police cooperation and
the fight against organised crime, good cooperation with Europol has
continued. Technical preparations and staff training with a view to the establishment
of the Supplementary Information Request at the National Entry (S.I.Re.N.E)
Office and of the National Office for the Schengen Information System (S.I.S.)
have advanced.

·
However, the regulatory framework for these
offices is still missing.

Various trainings took place on the fight
against organised crime, including on strengthening criminal intelligence
analysis and on anti-money-laundering. A monitoring system to fight corruption
in border management is in place.

·
A new Law on police is currently being prepared;
attention should be paid to ensure that the draft includes the criteria of
transparency and equal treatment, according to the Strategy for the Management
of Human Resources.

The track record on organised crime has
continued to develop, notably with a number of investigations and convictions
in the field of drugs smuggling.

·
The level of confiscated assets needs to be
increased.

·
Attention should be paid to the coordination of
criminal and financial investigations as well as to the implementation of the
legal framework in the field of fight against trafficking in human beings.

The capacities of the national police
office for the suppression of corruption and organised crime (PNUSKOK) have
been strengthened through ad-hoc staff trainings.

·
Further efforts are necessary in upgrading
equipments and facilities, particularly in the Split department.

Inter-agency cooperation on exchanging data
on transactions of suspected money laundering and terrorist financing is now
facilitated by the signature of an annex to the protocol on cooperation between
authorities dealing with corruption, organised crime and the associated crimes
of money laundering and financing of terrorism.

2.4.        Overview of state of play
in the preparations in other acquis chapters

In most areas of the acquis
preparations for membership are well advanced. Preparations are almost
complete in the field of freedom of movement for workers, company law,
intellectual property rights, financial services, economic and monetary policy,
statistics, trans-European networks, science and research, education and
culture, as well as foreign security and defence policy.

Croatia has achieved a good level of
alignment, with a limited number of outstanding issues still remaining, in
most of the acquis chapters.

· With regard to free movement of goods, Croatia must complete
legislative alignment in the field of horizontal measures, as well as new and
old approach product legislation. Urgent attention must be paid to the requirement imposed by Croatia for additional intermediate storage
of imported petroleum products, which constitutes a measure having an effect
equivalent to quantitative restriction, in violation of the acquis.

· As regards free movement of capital, further attention must
be paid to the amendments to the Act on Privatisation of INA and the Act on
Privatisation of Telecom; efforts to implement the action plan against money
laundering must continue.

· With regard to public procurement, attention must be paid to
legislative alignment in secondary legislation, especially in the field of
defence procurement and also to the proper implementation of the newly adopted legislation, especially at local level, also
in view of the future management of the structural funds.

·
In the area of information society and media,
the fee / tax measure on mobile services re-introduced in January 2012
needs to be urgently abolished.

· In the field of transport policy, attention must be given to
further legislative alignment in the areas of combined transport and to
improving administrative capacity, in particular in relation to the functioning
of the railway safety agency.

· With regard to energy, attention must be given to further
legislative alignment in the areas of the internal energy market, and to
continue the liberalisation process of the electricity and gas markets.

· With regard to taxation, Croatia needs to ensure that all
relevant IT systems are in place and able to exchange information with the EU
and other Member States as from the date of accession.

· In the field of social policy and employment, attention must
be given to further legislative alignment in the fields of anti-discrimination
and equal opportunities. Structural weaknesses of the labour market as well as further
capacity-building of social partners and further strengthening of
administrative capacity across all areas must also be addressed.

· As regards enterprise and industrial policy, efforts are
necessary to improve the business environment.

· In the field of consumer and health protection, continued efforts
are needed in order to upgrade, restructure and licence facilities for handling
blood, tissues and cells in accordance with the EU technical requirements.

· As regards customs union, Croatia needs to finalise the
preparation and deployment of all the IT systems
required for interconnectivity and interoperability with the EU customs systems.

· With regard to external relations, Croatia needs to ensure the
alignment of its international agreements with the acquis by accession.

· In the field of financial control, continued efforts are
needed in order to improve the overall functioning of the public internal
financial control and external audit at central and local level.

· In the field of financial and budgetary provisions, the
coordination department needs to continue building up its capacity to
coordinate the overall system of own resources efficiently after accession. The
modernisation of the customs control strategy focusing more on post-clearance
controls needs to be stepped up.

Croatia has achieved a generally good level
of alignment also in the six remaining acquis chapters, but increased
efforts are needed in some domains.

· With regard to right of establishment and freedom to provide
services, preparations are on track. However, efforts need to be focused on
the implementation of the Services Act.

· As for agriculture and rural development, attention must be
given to further legislative alignment and strengthening of administrative
capacity in the areas of direct payments and rural development.

· With regard to food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy,
attention must be paid to the construction and equipment of border inspection
posts in time and the upgrading of the establishments for the handling and
processing of milk, meat, fish and animal by-products. Continued attention
needs to be paid to the further strengthening of administrative capacity in
this area.

· In the field of fisheries, attention must be given to further
legislative alignment and implementation of the acquis in the areas of
resources and fleet management, inspection and control as well as structural
measures, in particular as regards the preparation of the management plans, the
phasing out of the category of subsistence fisheries as well as the completion
of the satellite based vessel monitoring system. Continued attention needs to
be paid to the further strengthening of administrative capacity, especially as
regards the recruitment and training of fisheries inspectors.

· With regard to regional policy and coordination of structural instruments,
further sustained efforts need to focus on effectively implementing the plans
to increase administrative capacity for future cohesion policy implementation
and to develop a mature project pipeline.

· With regard to environment, significant attention must be
given to further legislative alignment and implementation in the areas of the
horizontal acquis and climate change. Particular attention needs to be
paid to the effective public participation and access to justice in
environmental matters, and, in so far as climate change is concerned, to
complete the legislative alignment and to ensure implementation, in particular
for the EU Emissions Trading System.

Finally, the Commission calls on the
Croatian authorities to accelerate work on the translation and revision of
the acquis, which must be completed before the date of accession in
order to ensure legal certainty in the implementation of EU legislation.

3.           Conclusions

Overall, Croatia's preparations for EU
membership are on track. Croatia has reached a considerable degree of alignment
with the acquis. Further progress has been achieved since the 2011 progress
report and the last update of the monitoring tables in autumn 2011.
Nevertheless the Commission has identified a limited number of issues requiring
further efforts. The Croatian authorities need to take all necessary measures
to ensure that the country is fully prepared for membership by 1 July 2013, in
the interest of Croatia and the EU.

The Commission will continue monitoring the
fulfilment of the commitments taken by Croatia in the context of accession
negotiations focusing on the issues identified in the monitoring tables and
reflected in this report and, if circumstances would so warrant, make use of
the instruments available under Article 36 of the Act of Accession.

In accordance with that Article, the Commission will
present a Comprehensive Monitoring Report to the European Parliament and the
Council, as well as an update of the Monitoring Tables, in autumn 2012.

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