3rd meeting of EU-Croatia Stabilisation and Association Committee held in Brussels

As a part of the regular dialogue in the framework of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, a meeting of the Stabilisation and Association Committee between the EU and Croatia took place in Brussels on 5 December 2007. The meeting took stock of recent developments regarding political and economic criteria, as well as Croatia's progress in aligning to the body of Community law (acquis).

The Stabilisation and Association Committee between the EU and Croatia met on 5 December 2007 for the third time since the entry into force of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement on 1 February 2005. This third meeting took place at a time when accession negotiations with Croatia are entering a decisive phase. So far, negotiations were opened on fourteen chapters and provisionally closed on two. For another ten chapters opening benchmarks were agreed upon. The focus has now shifted towards meeting these benchmarks and good progress has been made in many of these areas.

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Christian Danielsson, acting Director in the European Commission Directorate General for Enlargement. Mrs. Marija Pejčinović-Burić, State Secretary for European Integration in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Croatia headed the Croatian delegation.

The meeting was held in a very positive and productive atmosphere. The two Parties held an exchange of views on the latest advancement with regard to the political and economic criteria as well as on Croatia’s progress in alignment with the Community acquis. The European Commission referred to its recent Progress Report of November 2007.

The Committee stressed the importance of the political criteria. While it welcomed progress in implementation of the judicial reform and first achievements of the Croatian anti-corruption body, it also noted that there was considerable scope for further improvement. In addition, the need for substantial and increased efforts in the area of public administration reform was highlighted. The Committee welcomed the continuous full cooperation with the ICTY and recalled the need to further improve the conduct of war crimes trials in Croatia. The need for further work with regard to refugee return and minority rights was noted. The importance of regional cooperation and good-neighbourly relations was stressed.

As regards economic criteria, recent economic developments, structural reforms (public finance reform, pension, health and social benefit reform, debt management, enterprise restructuring and privatisation, business environment) as well as the economic dialogue between the Commission and Croatia were discussed.

The Committee reviewed progress with regard to the Implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and approximation with the acquis in negotiations chapters. It was emphasised that adoption of legislation relevant to the acquis is progressing well. However, the alignment needs to be continued, its implementation ensured and administrative capacity strengthened across the board. In this regard the Committee highlighted in particular the importance to make progress with regard to competition (state aid), public procurement and taxation.

The general conclusion of the Stabilisation and Association Committee was that Croatia continues on its road towards EU membership and with the overall reform process and should in particular focus on fulfilling remaining obligations from the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and the priorities from the Accession Partnership, as well as by continuing to invest additional efforts to fulfil all the membership criteria.

Background:

The Stabilisation and Association Committee is a joint body comprising representatives from the European Commission and the EU Member States, on one side, and representatives from the Government of Croatia, on the other

The main task of the Stabilisation and Association Committee is to review the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, which had entered into force on 1 February 2005 and is a comprehensive agreement which provides the contractual framework for relations between the EU and Croatia during the pre-accession period. It establishes a political dialogue, provides for the creation of a free trade area by 2007 for industrial products and most agricultural products, foresees the approximation of Croatian legislation to the Community acquis, and wide-ranging cooperation in all areas of Community policies, including in the area of justice and home affairs.

Croatia as a candidate country benefits from all of the EU’s pre-accession instruments which in 2007 were replaced by the new single Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). This programme replaces the CARDS Programme and the pre-accession programmes PHARE, ISPA and SAPARD. The IPA Programme is open to Croatia from 2007 until accession to the EU. These instruments help Croatia to prepare for future accession and lead to an increase in financial assistance. In 2007, the financial allocation for Croatia within IPA amounts to € 141 million.