natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
The model of multi-level, multi-dimensional strategy of action implies parallel representation of interests and lobbying at several political levels and various channels of influence, but also a legitimate, responsible and active relationship towards constituency, clients or beneficiaries and that is still a challenge for a great number of Croatian interest groups.
Model višerazinske i višedimenzionalne strategije djelovanja, koji pretpostavlja istodobno zastupanje interesa i lobiranje na nekoliko političkih razina i više različitih kanala utjecaja, te ujedno održavanje legitimnoga, odgovornog i aktivnog odnosa prema članstvu odnosno korisnicima usluga organizacije izazov je za najveći broj hrvatskih interesnih skupina.
Among the most important challenges interest groups are facing in that respect are the lack of human and financial resources, the need for more advanced knowledge about the structures and methods of decision-making processes at the national, and especially at the EU level, weakly-developed lobbying skills, inadequate level of foreign language proficiency, the highly technical and bureaucratic character of the EU adjustments, and also the lack of time for consultation with members due to the routine practice of adopting most so-called “EU laws” through the urgent government and parliamentary procedure.
Neki od značajnijih izazova s kojima se u tom kontekstu suočavaju interesne skupine jesu nedostatni ljudski i financijski potencijali, nedovoljno poznavanje strukture i metoda procesa odlučivanja na nacionalnoj razini, a pogotovo na razini EU, nerazvijenost lobističkih vještina, manjkavo poznavanje stranih jezika, izrazito tehnička i birokratizirana priroda prilagodbi EU koja zahtijeva visoku razinu stručnosti i znanja interesnih skupina, ali i nedostatak vremena za konzultacije s članstvom zbog već uvriježenog usvajanja većeg broja tzv. EU zakona u hitnoj vladinoj i saborskoj proceduri.
Regardless of the expected difficulties, most authors stress that the lobbying game in the EU should remain open for new actors, so that European system of interest groups does not turn into a hermetic, elite system.
Bez obzira na očekivane poteškoće, većina autora ističe važnost da lobistička utakmica u EU ostane otvorena za nove aktere, kako se europski sustav interesnih skupina ne bi pretvorio u potpuno hermetičan, elitni sustav.
A more proactive European lobbyist activity by Croatian interest groups even in the pre-accession period is considered a potential catalyst of transformation of the model of interest representation and policy paradigms at national levels which may lead to the gradual institutionalisation and acceptance of lobbying as a legitimate democratic practice.
Proaktivniji europski lobistički angažman hrvatskih interesnih skupina još u pretpristupnom razdoblju potencijalno je snažan katalizator transformacije modela artikulacije interesa i policy paradigmi na nacionalnoj razini, što može otvoriti prostor za institucionalizaciju i postupno prihvaćanje lobiranja kao legitimne demokratske prakse.
TOWARDS EUROPEANIZATION OF POLICY PROCESSES AND LEGITIMISATION OF LOBBYING IN CROATIA
PREMA EUROPEIZACIJI KREIRANJA JAVNIH POLITIKA I LEGITIMIZACIJI LOBIRANJA U HRVATSKOJ
Empirical research conducted among Slovenian interest groups in the pre-accession period (Fink-Hafner, 1998) shows that European networking enables interest groups from candidate countries to establish contacts with EU officials, learn more intensively about European problems, political culture, decision-making methods and conflict resolution.
Istraživanje provedeno među slovenskim interesnim skupinama u fazi priprema za pristupanje EU (Fink-Hafner, 1998) pokazuje da europsko umrežavanje pomaže interesnim skupinama iz zemalja kandidatkinja da uspostave kontakte s europskim službenicima te da intenzivnije uče o europskim problemima, političkoj kulturi, načinu donošenja odluka i rješavanju konflikata.
New experiences and perspectives opened through networking with Euro-groups are usually considered valuable for two main reasons: (i) strengthening of the tradition of democratic political culture in countries that are still in the process of consolidation and (ii) learning and adjustments of the candidate countries to the predominant political culture at the emerging, supranational EU level.
Iskustva i mogućnosti koje se otvaraju umrežavanjem s europskim skupinama dragocjena su zbog dva razloga: 1. zbog jačanja tradicije demokratske političke kulture u zemljama koje su još uvijek u procesu konsolidacije, 2. zbog učenja i prilagodbi prevladavajućoj političkoj kulturi na razini novonastajućega, supranacionalnoga EU čijim dijelom zemlje kandidatkinje žele postati u što kraćem roku.
European Union networking has been recognised as a channel for importing new knowledge, new ways of thinking, expert assistance, free of charge information and results of expert analysis from the EU to candidate countries.
Umrežavanje na razini EU prepoznato je kao kanal za “uvoz” novog znanja, novih oblika razmišljanja, ekspertne pomoći, besplatnih informacija te rezultata ekspertnih analiza iz Unije u zemlje kandidatkinje.
It has also been recognised that the context of Europeanisationxvii brings not only new knowledge, new autonomous sources of European information and new ways of thinking, but also the reorganisation of interest groups from transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe following the model adopted by the related organisations from the EU, but also the changes of perception of sound policies and good models of interaction between civil society and governmental actors in the legislative process.
Ustanovljeno je da kontekst europeizacijexviii ne donosi samo novo znanje, autonomne izvore europskih informacija i novog načina razmišljanja, nego i reorganizaciju interesnih skupina u tranzicijskim zemljama srednje i istočne Europe, po uzoru na primjer njihovih srodnih organizacija iz EU, mijenjajući percepciju dobrih politika i dobrih modela interakcije između civilnog društva i vladinih aktera u zakonodavnom procesu.
The mentioned impact of Europeanisation also has political implications since it contributes to the European empowerment of domestic interest groups in national policy arenas.
Spomenuti utjecaj europeizacije ima političke implikacije jer je riječ o europskom osnaživanju domaćih interesnih skupina u nacionalnim policy arenama.
The influence of European networking has been especially important for strengthening capacities of interest groups in the phase of official agenda setting of Government and Parliament, and in promoting participatory type of political culture of interest groups.
Utjecaj europskog umrežavanja osobito je važan za jačanje kapaciteta interesnih skupina u stadiju utvrđivanja službenih agendi vlada i parlamenata, te na unapređenje participativnog tipa političke kulture interesnih skupina.
The case of Slovenian interest groups, as well as the results of other similar research carried out in the past few years, indicate that cross-border networking and collaboration of European organisations of civil society are becoming an important factor of the Europeanisation of the structures, processes and content of political decision making in candidate countries in the Union (Grabbe, 2001), as part of the wider process of adjustments of these countries on multi-level decision-making processes and the introduction of European standards in particular areas.
Istraživanje među slovenskim interesnim skupinama, ali i rezultati drugih srodnih istraživanja proteklih godina, pokazuje da prekogranično umrežavanje i povezivanje europskih organizacija civilnog društva postaje vrlo važan čimbenik europeizacije struktura, procesa i sadržaja političkog odlučivanja u zemljama kandidatkinjama za članstvo u Uniji (Grabbe, 2001), u sklopu šireg procesa prilagodbe tih zemalja višerazinskim procesima odlučivanja i uvođenju europskih standarda u specifična područja.
In view of the predominantly negative perceptions related to lobbying, it is assumed that better regulation in this area would contribute to the gradual acceptance of lobbying as a legitimate democratic practice in Croatia.
S obzirom na prevladavajuće negativne percepcije vezane za lobiranje, nameće se pretpostavka da bi se uvođenjem određenog regulativnog okvira u to područje moglo pridonijeti postupnom prihvaćanju lobiranja kao legitimne demokratske prakse u Hrvatskoj.
Such an assumption is grounded on the best-practice examples in several EU member states and also on dominant trends in EU policy-making processes.
Takva pretpostavka donekle nalazi uporište u primjerima dobre prakse niza članica EU, ali i u dominantnim trendovima u političkim procesima Unije.
The necessity of introducing a regulatory framework for lobbying could be justified by the need to improve the transparency of that activity, and introduce the public and interest groups to lobbying concepts, methods and practices.
Nužnost uvođenja odgovarajuće regulative može se smatrati opravdanim radi poboljšanja transparentnosti načina i metoda lobiranja te potrebe da se javnosti i interesnim skupinama objasni što lobiranje doista jest.
On the other hand, the progress towards regulation of lobbying might be considered as a possible output of proactive investment of efforts of professional lobbyists and experts into the promotion of lobbyist profession and lobbying as such.
Usto, napredovanje prema regulaciji lobiranja može se promatrati i kao rezultat ulaganja većih napora profesionalnih lobista i stručnjaka u promociju i unapređenje lobističke struke i lobiranja.
Namely, the trend of over-regulation which is usually not accompanied by adequate implementation is still rather pronounced in Croatian policy processes, partly due to the ambitious EU accession agenda of the Government which implies an enormous and urgent legislative and regulatory dynamics.
Naime, trend prenaglašene regulacije, koju najčešće ne prati odgovarajuća implementacija, sve je zamjetniji u hrvatskim političkim procesima, donekle i zbog utjecaja ambiciozne agende za pristupanje EU koja diktira vrlo opsežnu i žurnu zakonodavnu i regulativnu dinamiku.
Such an environment does not leave much space and time for the maturing process that would enable the legitimisation of lobbying.
Takvo ozračje ne ostavlja dovoljno prostora ni vremena za proces sazrijevanja koji bi bio podloga za svojevrsnu legitimizaciju lobiranja.
In addition to the upholding and promotion of the practice and profession of lobbying, the necessary preconditions for the effectiveness of a regulatory framework for and the legitimisation of lobbying should be, on the one hand, the fight against corruption, and on the other, the modification of electoral law which, in its present form, entails a high level of party discipline and makes the majority of lobbying efforts directed towards individual deputies almost a waste of time.
Osim afirmacije i promocije lobističke prakse i struke, kao nužan preduvjet za učinkovitost regulativnog okvira i za legitimizaciju lobiranja obično se navodi pojačana borba protiv korupcije, ali i izmjena izbornog zakona koji u sadašnjem obliku podrazumijeva visok stupanj stranačke stege i čini gotovo besmislenim lobistički angažman oko pojedinih zastupnika.
Debates on the necessity to introduce more stringent regulation of lobbying at the EU level showed that professional lobbyists generally oppose the idea of enforcing tighter rules in the field.
Rasprave o potrebi uvođenja strožeg regulativnog okvira na razini EU pokazale su da su profesionalni lobisti po pravilu neskloni nametanju zahtjevnijih regulativnih propisa.
Arguments in favour of this attitude have been primarily drawn from the basic understanding of lobbying as a less institutionalised model of interest representation or rather as an informal process which can hardly be precisely defined and placed within a rigid normative framework (van Schendelen, 2002).
Argumenti u prilog tome mogu se naći u stavovima analitičara koji lobiranje ponajprije shvaćaju kao niskoinstitucionalizirani model predstavljanja interesa, odnosno kao vrlo neformalni proces koji je teško precizno definirati i smjestiti u određene krute normativne okvire (van Schendelen, 2002).
Some countries failed to adopt a legislative act on lobbying mostly due to the fact that it was impossible to agree on a clear and unambiguous definition of subjects and objects of lobbying and methods that might be encompassed by that notion.
Neuspjeh usvajanja zakonskog okvira za lobiranje u nekim zemljama najčešće je bio rezultat nemogućnosti nalaženja jasne i nedvosmislene definicije subjekata i objekata lobiranja, kao i metoda koje se mogu svesti pod taj pojam.
In this sense, the laws on lobbying adopted in Lithuania, Poland and Hungary are interesting examples that are worth analysing, particularly in terms of influence on the development of lobbying practice and its better legitimisation in the public of those countries.
U tom su smislu zakoni o lobiranju prihvaćeni u Litvi, Poljskoj i Mađarskoj zanimljivi primjeri koje će nakon određenoga vremenskog razdoblja biti vrijedno pomnije istražiti, pogotovo u smislu utjecaja na razvoj lobističke prakse i njezinu moguću bolju legitimizaciju u javnosti tih zemalja.
On the whole, the modernisation of policy processes and the foreign policy challenges, particularly the EU accession process, entail the necessity of harmonising lobbyist practices in Croatia with some good European standards in the area.
Promatrajući cijelu problematiku u širim okvirima, moguće je istaknuti da modernizacija političkih procesa i vanjskopolitički izazovi, ponajprije proces pristupanja EU, nameću potrebu da se lobistička praksa u Hrvatskoj uskladi s dobrim europskim standardima na tom području.
For the regulation and gradual legitimisation of lobbying in domestic policy arena may be considered as a pre-condition for successful lobbying in international forums.
Naime, regulacija i postupna legitimizacija lobiranja na domaćoj sceni može se promatrati kao preduvjet za uspješno lobiranje na međunarodnoj razini.
Such attitudes follow to a great extent the logic of thinking of a number of authors (Young and Wallace, 1997; Greenwood, 2003, etc.) that consider the patterns of action of organised interests in the EU as largely conditioned by the national environment and modalities of positioning of interest groups in the national context.
Takvi stavovi uvelike slijede logiku razmišljanja niza autora (Young i Wallace, 1997; Greenwood, 2003. itd.) koji se bave analizama interesnih skupina na nacionalnoj razini i razini EU, a prema kojima su obrasci djelovanja organiziranih interesa u EU uvelike uvjetovani nacionalnim okruženjem odnosno modalitetima njihova pozicioniranja u domaćem kontekstu.
Procedures and patterns of interest articulation at the EU level are unique and closely related to the particularities of the political system of the Union.
Procesi i obrasci artikulacije interesa na razini EU umnogome su jedinstveni i uvjetovani specifičnostima političkog sustava Unije.
The complexity and dynamics of mutual relations between the EU institutions and supranational, national and subnational actors, pronounced diffusion and fragmentation of the decision-making process, variability of positions of different actors of the political system depending on the relevant sector or area, and a number of other institutional particularities of the European model of non-hierarchical, multi-level governance, have many implications for the models of interest representation and the development of the lobbying system at the EU level.
Kompleksnost i dinamičnost uzajamnih odnosa među institucijama EU, odnosno među nadnacionalnim, nacionalnim i subnacionalnim akterima, izrazita disperzija i fragmentacija procesa odlučivanja, naglašena varijabilnost pozicija različitih aktera političkog sustava ovisno o području odlučivanja te niz drugih institucionalnih posebnosti europskog modela nehijerarhijske, višerazinske vladavine ima niz utjecaja na obrasce zastupanja interesa i razvoj lobističkog sustava na razini EU.
Differentiated institutional environment of the EU provides interest groups with a wide spectrum of potential channels of influence on the policy-making, while each particular lobbying channel implies interactions with a series of institutional and political actors the importance of which depends on the modalities of decision-making process.
Diferencirano institucionalno okruženje EU nudi interesnim skupinama širok raspon potencijalnih kanala utjecaja na oblikovanje javnih politika, pri čemu svaki od tih lobističkih kanala podrazumijeva interakciju s nizom institucionalnih i političkih aktera čija važnost ovisi o modalitetima procesa odlučivanja.
In those circumstances, the entry and positioning of interest groups from Croatia requires the development of a multi-dimensional strategy of parallel action at several political levels and channels of influence, along with maintaining a legitimate, responsible and active relationship with their constituencies, members or clients.
U takvim okolnostima ulazak i pozicioniranje interesnih skupina iz Hrvatske zahtijeva razvoj višedimenzionalne strategije, uz istodobno djelovanje na nekoliko političkih razina odnosno kanala utjecaja, ali ujedno i održavanje legitimnoga, odgovornog i aktivnog odnosa prema članstvu odnosno korisnicima usluga organizacije.
Notwithstanding a number of deficiencies and limitations of the mentioned national and supranational channels of influence, a more proactive approach to the EU has important implications on the process of learning and the efficient adaptation of Croatian interest groups to the highly populated, heterogeneous and competitive lobbying environment of the enlarged EU.
Bez obzira na brojne nedostatke i ograničenja opisanih nacionalnih i nadnacionalnih kanala utjecaja, proaktivniji nastup na razini EU ima važne implikacije na proces učenja i učinkovitu prilagodbu hrvatskih interesnih skupina izrazito napučenome, heterogenom i konkurentnom lobističkom okruženju proširenog EU.
Experiences of other countries of Central and Eastern Europe show that the context of Europeanisation does not only bring new knowledge, autonomous sources of European information and new ways of thinking, but also a reorganisation and redefinition of the role of interest groups in national policy processes, changing perception on good governance and good models of interaction between organised interests and the state.
Iskustva drugih zemalja srednje i istočne Europe pokazuju da kontekst europeizacije ne donosi samo novo znanje ni autonomne izvore europskih informacija i novog načina razmišljanja, nego i reorganizaciju i redefiniranje uloge interesnih skupina u nacionalnim policy procesima, mijenjajući tako percepciju dobre vladavine i dobrih modela interakcije između organiziranih interesa i države.
In that sense, interest representation and lobbying at EU level may prove to be a very important factor in the Europeanisation of the structures, processes and contents of political decisionmaking in Croatia, and of accepting lobbying as a legitimate democratic practice.
U tom smislu zastupanje interesa i lobiranje na razini EU potencijalno može biti vrlo važan čimbenik europeizacije struktura, procesa i sadržaja političkog odlučivanja u Hrvatskoj, ali i prihvaćanja lobiranja kao legitimne demokratske prakse.
* The author would like to thank the referees who anonymously reviewed this paper
* Autor zahvaljuje anonimnim recenzentima.
i Political science has not yet provided for a consistent and precise definition of the term “interest groups”.
i Politička znanost još uvijek nije uspjela ponuditi konzistentnu i preciznu definiciju termina “interesne skupine ”.
For the purpose of this work, interest groups will be understood as “organisations, not including political parties, which have a direct influence on the process of policy making ”.
Za potrebe ovog rada interesne će se skupine poimati kao “organizacije, ne uključujući političke stranke, koje izravno utječu na proces političkog odlučivanja odnosno kreiranja politika ”.
That definition draws on the dominant approaches to the analysis of complex EU interest groups system and enables us to take a sufficiently comprehensive approach for studying that topic.
Ta je definicija na tragu prevladavajućih pristupa analizi kompleksnog sustava interesnih skupina u EU te nam omogućuje dovoljno obuhvatno polazište za proučavanje te tematike.
Sometimes, the notion “organised interests ” will be used synonymously since it has become a commonly used term in the field ofEuropean studies - to respond to the need of analysis of EU interest representation which comprises also groups such as corporations, consultancies and law firms that provide lobbying services but are not perceived as member organisations with clear constituency.
Povremeno ćemo sinonimno rabiti i pojam “organizirani interesi”, koji je u sklopu europskih studija postao vrlo uvriježen zbog potrebe da analiza interesne reprezentacije na razini EU obuhvati i skupine poput korporacija, konzultantskih ili pravničkih firmi koje pružaju lobističke usluge, a ne percipiraju se kao članske organizacije s jasnom bazom korisnika.
ii See Schmitter and Streeck (1991); Greenwood [et al.] (1992); Mazey and Richardson (1993); Van Schendelen (1993); Hayward (1995); Greenwood (1997); Wallace and Young (1997).
ii Vidjeti Schmitter and Streeck (1991); Greenwood [et al.] (1992); Mazey and Richardson (1993); Van Schendelen (1993); Hayward, J. (1995); Greenwood (1997); Wallace and Young (1997).
iii For example, the European Round Table of Industrialists gathers around fifty heads of major European industrial sectors, exclusively on invitation.
iv Primjera radi, Europski okrugli stol industrijalaca okuplja oko pedeset čelnika glavnih europskih industrijskih grana, koji na njemu sudjeluju isključivo na temelju pozivnice.
iv Some authors argue that the Commission initiative CONECCS is actually the beginning of the accreditation system of the European Commission.
v Neki su mišljenja da je inicijativa Komisije CONECCS zapravo početak sustava akreditacije Europske komisije.
vi The vigorous lobbyist tactics ofsome members of the European associations of chocolate producers (especially Association of the Chocolate, Biscuit and Confectionary Industries of the EU - CAOBISCO and Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU - CIAA) made the parliamentary committee for scientific and technological options assessment withdraw the report which analysed the cases of deaths of small children caused by choking on the plastic toys that can be found in some chocolate products.
vii Intenzivne lobističke taktike kojima su se poslužile europske udruge proizvođača čokolade, napose Association of the Chocolate, Biscuit and Confectionary Industries of the EU (CAOBISCO) i Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU (CIAA), navele su Parlamentarni odbor za znanstvene i tehnološke analize da povuče izvješće u kojemu su se istraživali slučajevi smrti male djece zbog gušenja plastičnim igračkama sadržanima u nekim čokoladnim proizvodima.
The vice-president of the mentioned parliamentary committee and member of the European Parliament, Eryl McNally, called that decision irresponsible in the extreme and a direct result of intensive pressure from the manufacturers, almost to the level of harassment.
Potpredsjednica spomenutog Parlamentarnog odbora i članica Europskog parlamenta Eryl McNally nazvala je tu odluku “krajnje neodgovornom i izravnom posljedicom intenzivnog pritiska proizvođača, koji je graničio sa šikaniranjem ”.
More information on the mentioned “affair” can be found in the article Lobbyists seek to add teeth to their code of conduct, www.euractiv.com; March, 15 2004.
Više o spomenutoj “aferi ” u članku Lobbyists seek to add teeth to their code of conduct, www.euractiv.com; 15. ožujka 2004.
viii According to the data from the year 2005, the annual number ofpasses (accreditations) delivered by the Parliament amounts to 4,800.
ix Prema podatcima iz 2005, godišnji broj propusnica (ili akreditacija) koje se izdaju doseže broj od 4.800.
See also the article Brussels lobbyists to come under tighter scrutiny, www.euractiv. com, March, 7 2005.
Također vidjeti članak Brussels lobbyists to come under tighten scrutiny, www euractiv. com, 7. ožujka 2005.