Suchergebnisse

This paper reviews current issues in health care policy and reform in Croatia. It analyses the microeconomic foundations of health care (characteristics of health as an essential good, market and government failures in allocation of health care services); the role of health care in the process of European Union accession; the status of health care in Croatia (health status of the population, demographic trends, health care resources); microeconomic and macroeconomic aspects of
health care financing; and recent reform proposals for the health care sector. On this basis a number of recommendations for health care reform in Croatia are formulated. The proposals refer to financial sustainability of health care in the medium and long term; the mix of general taxes and mandatory health insurance contributions as sources of public funding; the mix of public and private funding; the impact of different financing instruments on the operations of health care providers; labour market effects of different financing methods; and the political economy of health care reform.

This chapter summarizes the findings of the project of monitoring Croatian accession to the European Union. It draws particular attention to the challenges entailed in participation in the accession process and in relations with European countries, irrespective of Croatia's membership status. It tries to answer questions about: the place of Croatia in Europe; the problems of its economy; the nature of its political elite and the views of its citizens, and institutions' capacities to adapt to requirements of modern and open societies. Among the findings one could highlight: First, irrespective of the membership status, there are possibilities for Croatia to participate and even to try to act as leader in some fields (e.g. Adriatic Sea protection) and Croatian experts could participate in and contribute to the discussions of EU-relevant topics (e.g. European citizenship or communicating Europe). Second, high and stable distrust in the EU, rising unwillingness to join the EU and views concerning the EU that are more based on impressions than on utilitarian considerations might lead to a Croatian "no" to the EU in
the final moment of decision. However, if the benefits of reforms are reaped even without joining the EU, this does not have to be a disaster for the country, although it could be a serious setback for the political elite. Third, adaptation of the capabilities of Croatian institutions is
despite many improvements still the weakest spot. The progress of reforms has been limited and characterized by partiality, lack of strategies and still under strong political influences. The key words missing in almost all investigated fields are implementation, enforcement and action
plans. As the end of negotiations will more depend on the implementation than on the mere adoption of EU requirements, Croatia should turn to an "as soon as ready" instead of an "as soon as possible" policy.

This article examines the negotiation phase on two levels: First, it assesses domestic organising, the processes of adopting a negotiating position and the relevant actors involved. By a comparative analysis of the experiences from Estonia, Slovenia and Hungary, "best management" practises will be condensed. These are subsequently applied to Croatian negotiation management in order to identify potential problems. In a second step, the findings will be put into the wider context of the political consequences of the negotiation strategy, providing recommendations for alternative modes of domestic organising. It will be argued that the Croatian negotiation structure is streamlined in order to match ambitions to complete negotiations in a very short time. However, this institutional set-up concentrates one-dimensionally on executive expertise and reinforces problems in domestic representation and legitimisation. It therefore fails to accommodate to new strategic developments like enlargement-fatigue in the European Union and "euro-fatigue" in Croatia.

This paper analyses opportunities for and challenges of representing interests and the lobbying of Croatian interest groups in the decision- making processes at the European Union level. Taking into account the predominant trends and channels for the representation of interests in the competitive environment of the enlarged EU, as well as the experiences of new EU member states, the logic of access and influence of interest groups from Croatia on the EU policy-making procedures in the pre-accession period will be highlighted. The paper draws attention to the potential of the EU accession process to act as a catalyst for the Europeanisation of domestic public policy shaping and the adoption of new and modern patterns of interest articulation. It also provides incentives for considering the introduction of an adequate regulatory framework for lobbying, as a basis for legitimising the practice in Croatia.

The recognition of European citizenship by the Treaty on European Union (Treaty of Maastricht) introduced a novel legal institution into the European construction, hitherto unknown in international law. Its historical importance and nature will be analysed through different perspectives. The analysis of the structure of European citizenship reveals main advantages and disadvantages of the current concept. However, in its current form, it offers a very limited list of rights. Until recently, citizens' rights were neglected and invisible at the level of the European Union. This is especially visible in the policies towards the candidate and accession countries, which are obliged to follow certain human rights standards in order to meet the conditions for membership. The importance and meaning of European citizenship for third country
nationals has been emphasised over the last few years.

This paper deals with the characteristics of euroscepticism in Croatia, defined as a combination of distrust in the European Union and distaste for membership. An analysis of the dynamics of the two dimensions shows that initially these two factors did not coincide, but that after 2004 they converged. Starting off from a theoretical model according to which the attitude to the EU is affected by both utilitarian or pragmatic as well as ethnic-cum-nationalist (symbolic) factors, the analysis of data collected at the end of 2003 on a probabilistic national sample draws attention to the heterogeneous motives behind euroscepticism, which calls into question the effectiveness of any single intervention strategy. Exclusive nationalism and its socio-cultural, political and economic premises have been confirmed as an important source of euroscepticism. As against symbolic motivations, the impact of utilitarian motives on the attitude to the EU turned out to be marginal, but it is not clear to what extent this result is the consequence of methodological constraints. The data also show that lack of trust in the EU partially reflects distrust in national institutions. The paper concludes with a brief list of recommendations, focused particularly on ways of increasing trust in both national and EU institutions.

The paper discusses the need for the designation by the International Maritime Organization, of the Adriatic Sea as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA). The rationale for this inheres in the special features of the Adriatic Sea area, while the policy context has been set by the trend of European Union countries to advocate the proclamation of PSSA in marine areas surrounding Europe. Firstly, the PSSA concept is briefly reviewed and the current status of designations assessed. Secondly, the emerging policy of the EU towards PSSA proclamations is focused on and pressing reasons such as tanker accidents are highlighted; some background factors, such as the restructuring of oil transportation flows in Eurasia are commented upon. Thirdly, key features
of the Adriatic Sea as corresponding to the criteria for the designation of PSSA are explained, including the basic characteristics of the area, status and trends of international navigation here, and present and potential associated protective measures to address the risks. Also, the
Croatian initiative towards regional cooperation on an Adriatic PSSA is briefly presented. And finally, some conclusions on prospects for regional cooperation towards a PSSA in the Adriatic Sea are made, considering contrasts and commonality in that area.

This chapter summarizes the findings of the three year long project
of monitoring Croatia's preparations for EU accession, if and when
it comes, performed by a group of Croatian researchers. The first
hypothesis is that a kind of real integration of Croatia in the European
space already exists and that it should be further deepened through
improvements of the relevant institutions and harmonisation with
European standards and requirements. The second is that despite the
professed dedication of Croatia's government to joining the EU and
encouraging signals from the EU, hesitations in structural and institutional
reforms may hamper not only the success of future negotiations
and delay Croatia's accession, but also the transformation to a modern
and efficient state. The first part of the chapter analyses the changes in
the last couple of years in Croatia regarding the administrative and judicial
structure, economic sustainability and democracy, human rights
and fundamental freedoms; the second part emphasizes the effects of
the latest EU enlargement, competitive pressures and market forces, the
free movement of workers, knowledge and innovations, social issues,
the real estate market and spatial planning, and regional policy. The
chapter ends with conclusions and recommendations. We would lay
stress on the necessity of structural reforms in legislation, the judiciary
and the public administration, the restructuring of agriculture and shipbuilding,
the privatization of public utilities and tourism; patient and shrewd negotiations with the EU, and the possibility of bearing in mind
some kind of virtual membership that could help us deepen de facto
integration even without de jure membership status. Croatia's future
will depend on capabilities of the government to implement and enforce
the reforms and on the readiness of citizens to endure necessary adjustments
even when they are painful, making certain sacrifices in the present
for the sake of benefit in the future.

This paper deals with the free movement of workers in the context of EU enlargement with specific focus on the transitional period. The purpose of the paper is to present two main challenges Croatia will face in the accession negotiations of the chapter on free movement of workers: harmonization of legislation and a transitional period for the movement of its workers after the accession. With regard to legal harmonization, the paper gives an overview of the EU rules and Croatian legislation dealing with the free movement of workers. In order to explain the effect of the movement of workers in the enlarged EU on Croatia, it is necessary to look at the trends of labour migration in the EU and Croatia. The other important issue is the transitional arrangement
agreed with the new EU member states, for a similar arrangement might be proposed to Croatia during accession negotiations.

This paper investigates how one particular aspect of the freedom of movement of capital – the right of EU residents to acquire real estate in EU member states – might shape Croatia's EU accession negotiations and affect its real estate market, the tourism industry and the national economy. It identifies potential benefits and risks of unrestricted foreign investment in Croatian real estate, and attendant dilemmas for economic policies. The main conclusion is that Croatia stands to benefit in the long run from foreign investment in the property sector. However, a gradual approach to the opening-up of the real estate market to non-residents can be justified on a number of grounds. These include inadequate legislation limiting property speculation; potential spillovers of price increases from the market for secondary residences onto the local housing market (of which there is already some evidence); costs of the adjustment in the housing market and construction industry to a sudden large increase in demand for secondary residences; loss of competitiveness in the tourism industry if there should be violations of building regulations and the resulting overdevelopment of coastal areas; and macroeconomic pressures arising from large and sudden capital inflows.

The increasingly rapid pace of social and economic development often brings different forms of land use (for residential, industrial or leisure and recreational purposes) into conflict. Since the territory does not close with the administrative boundaries of municipalities, cities, regions and the country itself, there are increasingly numerous demands for the space to be considered in a broader context, from the local to the European, in order to avoid disharmonies, adverse impacts and also to preserve individual values. Handling territorial problems and the planning of space do not refer just to the planning and harmonisation of various land uses, the protection of the environment, the natural and cultural heritage, but also impinge on the economy, law, social and welfare matters and science and politics. Since territory has become a new dimension of EU policy, the spatial development of the Union is one of the topics that have gained in importance in recent years. Accordingly, at EU level, institutions are being organised and documents developed and adopted to spur the harmonisation of country spatial policies, the planning of sustainable development, the preservation of individual diversities, and collaboration. Croatia too will be required to become acquainted with these documents and to apply
them. The objective of this paper is to assess where physical planning is in Croatia as compared with the spatial development of EU member states, and whether Croatia has the strength to change its way of thinking, behaving and working in this domain, in order to be able to play an equal part in the creation of the European space.

Knowledge has become the key to economic competitiveness and success. An important part of an economy's overall competitiveness – the ability to achieve success on markets – is labour-force competitiveness. One of the main determinants of the competitiveness of human resources is a country's education system. The paper discusses EU activities related to achieving a move to a knowledge-based society and labour force competitiveness. After the introduction, a short theoretical framework is provided. The third part of the paper analyzes the situation in newly accepted EU members, in future members and in Croatia. After the assessment of some problems in Croatia, some proposals for improvements of the educational system are given.

The issue of co-ordination in welfare policy in the European Union (EU) has been the subject of many analyses and discussions, but still it has not attained the same level of importance given to the coordination of economic policy. The aim of the paper is to determine the situations and actions in Croatia and the EU in the eradication of poverty and social exclusion. The paper starts with the theoretical and methodological framework, which is followed by an account of the states of affairs in EU member-states. After the description of the situation in Croatia, especially of its advantages and disadvantages as compared to other transitional countries and future members of the EU, the paper ends with a conclusion and proposals for improvement.

The objective of this chapter is to sum up the results of the monitoring of Croatia's accession to the European Union (EU). This is a project in which a number of authors have taken part, each of them wanting in his or her own area to draw the attention of the politicians, experts, the media and the public to the requirements of the EU, and the weaknesses and strengths of Croatia, and to offer their recommendations for a better and faster accession to the EU, as well as a better and faster development of both the economy and society. After an introduction in which stress is placed on the importance of institutions for the development of the economy and society, the second part starts off optimistically with the opinions of others concerning us, goes on pessimistically with EU views about itself and its own development, and in part three the results are summed up in terms of topics – macroeconomics, the budget deficit, poverty, inequality and social exclusion, the rule of law and the judiciary, governance and the public administration, consumer and environmental protection, and legal aspects of the protection
of ethnic minorities, science and higher education, and social values. In the fourth part, there is consideration of what has changed in Croatia during the year since the printing of the previous book; in the fifth, the degree of Croatian preparedness to join the EU is discussed; in the sixth, recommendations are offered for as good an adjustment as possible; and in the seventh, conclusions. Very briefly, it can be concluded that Croatia is working hard at implementing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) and at adjusting to EU requirements, but that a better implementation of regulations will be required, together with a more rapid establishment of new, and a better functioning of existing, institutions. Crucial in this respect are problems in the public administration, in conjunction with the establishment and strengthening of the institutions essential for market liberalisation. This project too shows, once again, that irrespective of developments within the EU itself and its attitude with respect to Croatia, the country needs to work on its own institutions, launch the necessary reforms as rapidly and thoroughly as possible, and achieve better results in knowledge and education; in addition, the active participation of all those involved in the process is also a matter of vital importance.

The objective of this paper is to draw attention to the conditions that Croatia needs to meet in the area of higher education on the route towards European Union (EU) accession. Although higher education is not one of the priority sectors Croatia should work upon in order to meet the provisions of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), it is very clear that the harmonisation of Croatian legislation with European standards in the area of higher education will be one of the mainstays of social development and then of genuine accession to the EU. The main means for the unification and reform of tertiary education in Europe is the Bologna Process. Just recently, through the nominal accession to the Bologna Process, Croatia has started to become
aware of the imperatives that the EU has set all accession countries and potential accession countries. However, Croatia also has additional problems, inherited from the tradition, which should be settled before it begins to address those related to joining the European higher education area. We shall first give a brief account of the situation in Europe and outline the requirements of the Bologna Declaration. Then we shall compare the situation in Croatia and the accession countries with respect to the parameters that are tracked in the integration process, and highlight just a few problems that derive from the tradition and that take on increasing salience in the process of harmonisation with the Bologna Declaration. Lastly, we shall put forward some recommendations.