Institutional relations between Croatia
and the EU

Croatia's constant and active participation in European policies

A high level of coordination of Croatian foreign policy with the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy was also clearly visible in 2009, during which Croatia regularly associated with statements, positions and declarations of the EU in Brussels and in other international organisations as well. Croatia participated in informal meetings of foreign ministers of the EU Member States and candidate countries, meetings of Directors General for EU Affairs organised during the Czech and Swedish Presidencies, the meeting of the EU Troika and Political Directors of countries of the Western Balkans (at the margins of the UN General Assembly session), while consultations with the EU Troika about topics on the UN agenda and about the protection of human rights were also held.

Chapter "31 - Foreign, Security and Defence Policy" remained blocked in 2009 despite the very high level of preparedness of the Croatian side

for negotiations in this chapter. Croatia, however, continued enhancing the legal and institutional framework necessary for successful participation in the mechanisms of EU Common Foreign and Security Policy and Common Security and Defence Policy. After the September adoption of the National Strategy for Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons and the related Action Plan, preparations began for the necessary institutional alignment with the requirements ensuing from full EU membership. Changes in the area of these policies, resulting from the new Lisbon Treaty which entered into force at the end of the year, were followed closely, as were the first steps towards the development of the new European External Action Service.

Although Croatia is not yet a full-fledged member of the EU, participation in the mechanisms of the EU Common Security and Defence Policy greatly exceeds its current status. Aside from the most demanding segment – participation in peacekeeping missions – Croatia regularly participates in informal meetings of the Defence Ministers of the EU Member States, meetings of the EU Troika with the Defence Ministers of EU candidate countries and NATO member countries that are not in the Union. Croatia also takes part in meetings of the extended EU Military Committee and in meetings of the Political and Security Committee that discuss missions in which Croatia is included.

As in previous years, in 2009 Croatia participated in the following EU operations: EUPOL- Police mission to Afghanistan (2 police officers), EULEX Kosovo (4 police officers and 1 member of justice staff) and EUNAVFOR Atalanta, fighting against piracy off the coast of Somalia. Within the framework of this mission, one Croatian officer was assigned to a French ship, one was on a Belgian ship and one was in the Operational Headquarters in Northwood, Great Britain.

Along with the participation in missions, Croatia is also preparing for engagement in the so called EU Battlegroups. Croatian representatives will be included in a battle group consisting of representatives of three EU Member States beside Croatia: Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. The group will be ready for deployment in 2012.

Important support of the European Parliament

Two sessions of the Joint Parliamentary Committee were held in 2009. The Committee, comprised of members of the Croatian Parliament and the European Parliament, met in Zagreb in late February and in Strasbourg in late November. The parliamentarians praised the lifting of the blockade and the progress made by Croatia in the accession negotiations, expressing hope that the negotiation process will have been completed by the end of 2010. Croatia was also praised for

progress in the implementation of reforms in the fields of justice, state administration and strengthening of the administrative capacities for managing EU funds. Croatia was additionally encouraged to continue the implementation of reforms and its efforts to meet the political criteria for membership.

On 12 March 2009, the European Parliament adopted the Resolution on the Progress Report of the Republic of Croatia in 2008, expressing satisfaction with the progress made by Croatia in almost all fields, as well as the strengthened capacity of Croatia to assume obligations ensuing from membership. The Resolution supported the initiative of the European Commission to establish a working group responsible for drafting of the Accession Treaty for Croatia.

Cooperation with the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee

The working group for the Republic of Croatia within the Committee of the Regions held a meeting in Brussels in September 2009. The main topics of the meeting were the application of the principle of subsidiarity in Croatia and the role of tourism in local and regional development. The meeting was chaired by Isidoro Gottardo, the President of the Working group for Croatia and the President of the

European People's Party Group in the Committee of the Regions. The Croatian delegation included Vojko Obersnel, Mayor of Rijeka and the President of the Croatian Association of Towns, Božo Galić, County Prefect of the Vukovar- Srijem County and the President of the Croatian County Association and the Mayor of Dubrovnik Andro Vlahušić.

The initiative of the Croatian County Association and the Croatian Association of Towns to establish a higher form of institutional co-operation between local and regional representatives and the Committee of the Regions was supported by Luc Van den Brande, President of the EU Committee of the Regions. The Government of the Republic of Croatia accepted this proposal in December. Subsequently, the Bureau of the Committee of the Regions adopted a decision on promoting the Working Group to a Joint Advisory Committee consisting of an equal number of Croatian and EU representatives. Such a composition will further strengthen partnership relations between the representatives of local and regional authorities of the EU and Croatia.

The Joint Advisory Committee Croatia-EU met in Prague in May, within the framework of the co-operation with the European Economic and Social Committee. The main topics were “flexicurity” and communication strategy in the enlargement process. In October, the

same body met in Zagreb, where it discussed transport policy and sustainable development.

Use of pre-accession assistance programmes

The Republic of Croatia is a beneficiary of the pre-accession assistance programmes CARDS, PHARE, ISPA and SAPARD, as well as IPA, a new unique pre-accession assistance instrument which has replaced the existing programmes in financial plans for the period from 2007 to 2013. The IPA programme is comprised of five components: Component I – Assistance in transition and institution building, Component II – Cross-border cooperation, Component III – Regional development, Component IV – Human resources development and Component V – Rural development.

By 31 December 2009, a total of EUR 347.12 million were requested for programmes funded by the European Commission and EUR 296.61 million were transferred. The difference in the amount of requested and transferred funds arose due to internal EC procedures which take three to four months for the transfer of funds to the National Fund. Contracting for the first generation of pre-accession programmes CARDS, PHARE and SAPARD has been completed and contracting for the ISPA programme is in its final phase. The contracting rate for

individual programs exceeds 90 percent, indicating that the allocated funds were successfully used. A very demanding management and control system was established for the implementation of IPA, serving as preparation for future management of the Cohesion Fund and Structural Funds. Croatian institutions received accreditation for management of EU funds within IPA. The signing of the Financing Agreement on allocation of funds from IPA 2009 between the Republic of Croatia and the European Commission is expected throughout the course of 2010. According to the Project Fiches approved so far, IPA 2009 covers 18 projects and a total of 39 components through which equipment, services, twinning, work and grants will be financed.

Participation in several new Community Programmes

Croatian institutions are involved in the utilisation of Community programmes. Membership fees are financed within the framework of the IPA programme (previously through the PHARE programme) and partly from national funds. The benefits for the Republic of Croatia are manifold because Community programmes enable direct connections between Croatian institutions and those of Member States on specific projects, access is provided to additional funds set aside for the implementation of each programme, and non-refundable resources and financial incentives are available for individual programmes.

Membership fees are co-financed from the IPA component I, where the total of the co-financed amount for Community programmes cannot exceed 10% of the annual allocation (whereby research and development programmes are not included in the 10%), and cannot exceed 90% of the contribution value for a specific programme. A total of EUR 4.60 million was foreseen in the IPA 2007 programme for the payment of membership fees in 2008 and 2009, of which EUR 4.27 million were paid out by 31 December 2009. The amount of EUR 5.42 million was foreseen in the IPA 2008 programme for payment of membership fees for Community Programmes in 2009, of which a total of EUR 5.03 million were paid out by 31 December 2009.

Memoranda of Understanding were signed for participation in the following Community Programmes, for which membership fees are financed from IPA I 2007 and IPA I 2008:

1. The Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities
2. Customs 2013,
3. Fiscalis 2013,
4. Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity (PROGRESS)
5. Culture 2007 - 2013,

6. Europe for Citizens
7. Entrepreneurship and Innovation Specific Programme (EIP)
8. Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE)
9. Information and Communication Technologies Policy Support Programme (ICT PSP)
10. The Programme of Community Action in the Field of Health
11. Marco Polo II
12. Civil Protection Financial Instrument and Community Mechanism for Civil Protection
13. Media 2007,
14. IDABC

Preparation for the use of EU funds

The European Commission has proposed a financial package for Croatia in the amount of EUR 1.5 billion for 2012 and EUR 2 billion for 2013. The institutional framework for the implementation of the Cohesion Fund and Structural Funds has been set and it encompasses institutions accredited for the implementation of IPA.

The Croatian Government is working on the fulfilment of conditions for the use of allocated funds by preparing the necessary strategic documents and projects. The National Strategic Reference Framework,

a document that serves as a strategic framework for the use of Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund, is being drafted in accordance with EU regulations. The Central State Office for Development Strategy and Coordination of EU Funds is in charge of the overall preparation, while relevant ministries are responsible for the preparation of this strategy's implementing documents - sectoral operational programmes. Through these documents the Croatian Government will define the scope of investment in the field of transport, environmental protection, competitiveness, regional development, education, employment and strengthening of the capacities of public administration and the judiciary.

Furthermore, individual state bodies (Central State Office for Development Strategy and Coordination of EU funds, Ministry of Finance, Central Financing and Contracting Agency) are also continuously organising and carrying out training of civil servants working on EU programmes. The intention is to further develop and carry out training modules in order to ensure that people within the system of EU funds possess the necessary knowledge and skills.

Union for the Mediterranean

In 2009, the Republic of Croatia as a partner country actively participated in setting up new institutional structures of the Union for the Mediterranean. Despite a blockade of the process at a political level from January to July which was caused by a group of Arab member countries due to conflicts in the Gaza Strip, co-operation continued at the technical level. A working group for the development of the Statute of the Secretariat worked throughout the year on defining the mandate of the future Secretariat based in Barcelona. In the future, the Secretariat of the Union will have a crucial role in promoting projects and mobilising funds and partners for the implementation of projects within that framework. Having unblocked the process at the political level, in the second half of the year, the member states worked on the establishment of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly – ARLEM (Assemblée Régionale et Locale Euro-Méditerranéenne). This is in accordance with the initiative of the EU Committee of the Regions, which received support from the foreign ministers of the Union for the Mediterranean at the meeting in Marseille.

In 2009, representatives of the Republic of Croatia participated in four ministerial conferences (on sustainable development in Paris, on

finance in Luxembourg, on the role of women in the society in Morocco and on trade in Brussels). In March the Croatian Parliament expressed its intention to join EMPA, the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly.

The civil society in Croatia has shown great interest for co-operation in the Mediterranean through activities of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for Dialogue Between Cultures. Since its establishment in January 2009, the Croatian Anna Lindh Network, coordinated by the National Foundation for Civil Society Development, has involved fifty civil society organisations and is considered the fastest growing national network. In accordance with the Ministry's efforts to fully integrate non-governmental organisations in the activities within the Union for the Mediterranean, a Euro-Mediterranean forum of independent multidisciplinary scientists and intellectuals dedicated to monitoring, developing and proposing various forms of cooperation in the Mediterranean has been established. The Croatian scientific community has co-operated in the preparation of the strategy Mediterranean 2030, as part of the project of the French Institute for Economic Forecasting in the Mediterranean.

Informing and educating about the EU and the integration process in Croatia