PUBLIC LECTURE

Vandoren: Croatia has to continue with judicial reform

 

''Presidents of all three institutions of the European Union have expressed confidence that Croatia will become a member in the foreseeable future. As for the European Union, it has done its share of work'', said the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Reublic of Croatia Paul Vandoren during a lecture held at the European house Zagreb, on March 11.

In his speech he commented on President Ivo Josipović's visit to Bruxelles in early March. President Josipović held talks with the highest officials of the European Commission, European Council and European Parliament, and these meetings were also attended by HE Paul Vandoren.
He stressed that the accession negotiations are in a final and decisive phase. Thirty out of thirty-three chapters have been opened, seventeen of which have been provisionally closed. The rule of law remains one of the challenges in the negotiations. The remaining challenges are to strengthen the administrative capacity necessary for the absorption of European funds, as well as providing information to Croatian citizens about EU membership.

THE FULL TEXT OF THE SPEECH 


It is my great pleasure to have this opportunity today to discuss with you Croatia's way to the EU.

 

Last week, President Ivo Josipovic paid his first official visit outside of Croatia to Brussels, to the very heart of the European Union. This is not coincidental. It shows the importance the President attaches to Croatia's membership to the EU. This strategic goal is shared by the Government and virtually all political parties in the Sabor.

 

I had the pleasure of being present, last week, at President Josipovic's meetings with the President of the European Parliament, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission. I can tell you that they were held in a very friendly atmosphere. All three EU institutions' Presidents left no doubts that Croatia will be member of the EU in the foreseeable future. From the EU side, the homework is done. This means that, now that the Lisbon Treaty entered into force on 1st December last year, the EU has created the institutional preconditions for further enlargement.

Part one: Where does Croatia stand in the negotiations?

The accession negotiations with Croatia are in a final and decisive phase. Now that the Intergovernmental Conference of 20th February 2010 is behind us, 30 out of 33 negotiating chapters have been opened, 17 of which have been provisionally closed. This means that 3 chapters remain to be opened.

 

But let me first explain: what do accession negotiations actually mean? One of the preconditions for EU membership, apart from political and economic stability, is to take over and apply the common European legislation, the so called ‘acquis communitaire'. This ‘acquis' is a mass of EU legislation adopted by the EU institutions over more than 50 years in many spheres of the economy and the society at large in the Member States. For the purpose of the accession negotiations, this compilation of legislation and rules has been divided in a set of 33 co-called ‘chapters', i.e. fields of common EU legislation, ranging from free movement of capital, workers, services to environmental protection, transport, justice, fisheries, agriculture, just to name a few.

 

This ‘acquis' as such is, in principle, not negotiable. In order to become a member of the EU, Croatia, as any other candidate country, has to adjust its national legislation to this common European legislation and to create the administrative structure to apply it.

 

What are being negotiated are essentially the timeframe and the modalities of this adjustment in the respective fields. Only in a few areas the substance of the 'acquis' can be negotiated, for instance in agriculture and fisheries on the production and catching quotas or on the budget, i.e. the amount of money which is given to a country and the forms under which it is given. Generally, a chapter can be opened, when most of the ‘acquis' is transposed into the Croatian legislation. It may be provisionally closed, when the Croatian legislation is fully harmonised with the ‘acquis' and the institutions are in place in the accession country to properly implement the ‘acquis'. This is a highly technical and legal exercise requiring a thorough review of Croatian legislation. Many new laws have already been adopted, some are still in the pipeline. Even the constitution is being reviewed.

 

In this respect, I want to emphasise that it is quality what matters, not speed. It is of little use, if the Parliament adopts a law without good preparation and a public debate, and if it turns out, at a later stage, that the law can not be properly implemented. The adoption of a law is the easy part, what is more difficult is to implement and enforce it. This requires that the citizens are on board, that they understand what is at stake and what their interests are. This requires also that the necessary administration is in place and that a well functioning judiciary guarantees the respect for rights and obligations.

 

It is important to note that it is not up to the Commission to decide on the opening or closing of the chapters, but up to the EU Member States in the Council, who have to decide on this unanimously.

 

Part two: What are the remaining challenges?

1. The rule of law

I know that the ‘Sabor' is working hard to adjust the remaining pieces of Croatian legislation to the ‘acquis' and to revise the constitution. But it is equally important to ensure that these laws are efficiently implemented and applied to everybody. This is what we call the rule of law, the fundament on which the EU is based.

 

If we look at the remaining challenges in the accession negotiations, it is clear that Chapter 23, dealing with the judiciary and fundamental rights, has not been opened yet, because the Member States consider that Croatia is not yet sufficiently prepared.

 

Croatia has to continue with the reform of the judiciary, in particular to strengthen the independence and professionalism of judges through the introduction of a transparent selection procedure.

 

Croatia has to put more efforts to fight corruption at all levels. In this context, the awareness of the concept of 'conflict of interest' has to be more developed. Recently, there have been encouraging developments and we are glad to see that both the President and the PM have made the fight against corruption a top priority. What the EU is looking for is that the legal framework for fighting corruption is fully implemented and that there is a good track record of it in order to demonstrate that this process is irreversible.

 

In the field of human rights, the rights of national minorities have also to be strengthened, in particular to ensure adequate employment in the judiciary, police and public administration.

 

Croatia has to work further on establishing a modern and efficient public administration which serves the citizens. In this respect, a lot remains to be done. Hopefully, the new Action Plan -which has been foreshadowed- will lead to significant reforms at the central, regional and local level.

 

All this is to be done primarily for the sake of the interests of the citizens of Croatia. It is first and foremost the Croatian citizens, who are suffering from the lack of the rule of law in everyday life. Citizens' trust in the judiciary must increase. Foreign investors are reluctant to invest in Croatia, if there is no legal security and enforcement of court judgments.

In the context of the rule of law, I have to mention the need for full co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). This is one of the reasons why Chapter 23 has not been opened yet. Full cooperation with ICTY remains a key condition for the opening of the chapter. ICTY Chief Prosecutor Brammertz stated in his address to the UN SC, last December, and the EP, recently, that he is not satisfied with Croatia's cooperation regarding the access to certain military documents in the trial against Generals Gotovina, Markač and Čermak. Croatia is still requested to undertake a credible and comprehensive investigation to establish the whereabouts of these documents.

2. Administrative capacity to absorb EU funding

I have mentioned the most important tasks Croatia has to work on in order to get ready for the EU. But let me point to another issue, which risks affecting the whole process: Croatia's ability to make best use of EU funds upon accession (the so called "absorption capacity"). If we look at investments and developments in new Member States, we see that the EU Cohesion Policy greatly boosted the economies and improved the living standards of the citizens in these countries. Another indisputable benefit of the Cohesion Policy is the enhancement of modern public administration and the introduction in national administrations of high management standards. These opportunities will be available to Croatia as well. It would be a great pity not to take advantage of these facilities.

 

If Croatia becomes a Member of the EU in 2012, it can benefit from 3.5 bln EUR financial assistance over 2 years. This is much more than Croatia has been receiving now from the pre-accession funds. Already now the Croatian authorities have difficulties to identify enough good projects so that the money available can be spent. The Commission is faced with a certain degree of inertia, lack of commitment and lack of ownership to prepare for the Cohesion Policy. To this end, administrative capacity and project preparation (especially in transport, environment, competitiveness) need to be significantly strengthened. The Government has recently set up a special Inter-Ministerial Commission with the view to establishing the necessary administrative structures. This can be a step in the right direction, provided that the work of this Commission is adequately prepared, the right decisions are taken and effective implementation is carried through. I am convinced, above all, that Croatia wishes to take advantage of these opportunities and, therefore, will put in place all necessary structures. Otherwise, Croatia will be contributing to the EU budget without taking full profit from it. I hope that the message is clear.

 

3. Information and communication

As I said, Croatia is close to the EU. But for me, as a relatively newcomer to this country, it is surprising that the citizens, as public opinion polls suggest, seem not to be overly enthusiastic about this perspective. Opinion polls suggest that public support for EU membership is the lowest of all the countries in the region.

 

Let me, therefore, share with you my thoughts on why I believe it is important for Croatia to be a member of the EU.

 

At these times of globalisation, it is useful to be part of a big player, rather than to stay outside, in particular for a small and beautiful country like Croatia.

 

The European Union has a population of half a billion men and women whom are amongst the most educated and trained in the world. Even with only 7 percent of world population, the EU still generates almost 22 percent of the world's wealth. (This is compared to about 21 percent for the US, 11.5 percent for China and 4.7 percent for India.) Together, the EU is the first commercial power in the world, bigger than the US, China or Japan. And equally important, the members of the EU are envied for their political stability and security, for their social system and environmental standards, for the quality of European life.

 

Recently, the EU proved that it is able to cope with the unprecedented financial crisis. We have avoided a repetition of the errors of the 1930's. Within a year, and in striking contrast to 70 years ago, we are back on the track to positive economic growth. The EU has contributed a lot to the establishment of the G 20 at the height of the credit crisis in the autumn of 2008.

 

It was also the EU which put the challenges of climate change on top of the world agenda. Europeans were leaders in bringing others to the table and in setting a standard for emission reductions. Admittedly, the Copenhagen Summit last December could not meet these high expectations. But we continue to work on these objectives with our partners.

 

All these are challenges, which no single country of the EU can cope with on its own, but only in close cooperation among the Member States. That is what the "U" in the EU stands for: Union. That is why regional development and regional cooperation is high on the agenda of the EU. From the EU's point of view, Croatia is perceived as a key factor for stability in the region and has an important role to play to support the countries in the region on their way towards EU integration. We are glad to see that Croatia is taking an increasingly active role in this. An example is the joint Croatian/Slovenian initiative to address regional issues at the possible Brdo Summit at end of this month.

 

Enlargement Commissioner Füle is strongly supporting the process of regional cooperation. All partners in the region as well as the EU have a strong interest in avoiding that bilateral disputes stand in the way of further EU integration.

I said before that, for a small country, it is useful to be part of "Big Europe". I know that many Croatian citizens have mixed feelings towards such a "big elephant". Some are afraid that Croatia, once becoming a member, would just be economically "swallowed".

 

Let's look at the experience of the 12 new Member States, which joined the EU in 2004 and 2007. It has turned out that, by and large, they have profited economically from their EU membership with increased trade and investment opportunities. Unemployment had declined from often very high levels to levels similar to those in the rest of the EU. Investments from the so-called old EU Member States have been a key driver of economic transformation in the new Member States. Some new Member States are currently experiencing a sharp growth slowdown due to the economic crisis, but are supported by significant funds available under the EU's Cohesion Policy.

 

Of course, the EU is not only a place of honey and milk. In such a complicated structure like the EU, there are always different interests, be they political or economic. And it is not always easy to come to a compromise between the Member States. But, solidarity and compromising that is what the European Union is about. Those, who are not so much used to it, can learn it fast, once they are inside the European Union.

 

For a candidate country, preparing for the EU is often a hard and painful process of transformation. For example, how can the Croatian shipyards, Croatian agriculture be restructured in such a way that they can be competitive inside the EU? There are no easy answers to these questions. But the EU's Cohesion Policy and Rural Development Policy has helped the new Member States to undertake this restructuring process and also to better cope with the current economic crisis.

 

Overall, I believe that Croatia can benefit from EU membership in a similar way as the other new Member States have done. The accession negotiations are proceeding well and we see the light at the end of the tunnel. But the ultimate goal, Croatia's EU membership, is not achieved only by the completion of the technical work under all chapters.

Croatia's accession to the EU will remain a project of the political and economic elite, if it is not supported by the general public. Ultimately, it is up to the citizens of Croatia, to decide whether they want to be part of this united Europe. To that end, the Croatian authorities intend to organise a referendum after the end of the accession negotiations. It is very important to prepare the Croatian citizens for this in order to enable them to make an informed choice and give Croatia's accession to the EU full democratic legitimacy.

 

We all know that public support for Croatia's EU accession is neither convincing nor stable. Therefore, it is very important to start now and to intensify the efforts to launch a broad public campaign. We, from our side, are happy to work together with the Croatian authorities in this respect, but the overall responsibility and ownership of this endeavour is theirs.

 

Conclusion

Ladies and Gentlemen, Croatia is very close to EU membership. Hard work remains to be done in the fields I have mentioned before, but the goal is within reach: Croatia will be the next member of the EU.