Suchergebnisse

The launch of the ASEAN Economic Community raises key issues: the deepening of regional trade and the associated problem of exchange rate management. This volume questions the capacity of a shallow institution to deal with complex impacts on employment and inequality. Readers gain a clear understanding of ASEAN's potential and weakness in technical and non-technical but always readable terms.

This paper identifies the degree to which the Republic of Croatia is prepared for EU integration in the area of trade and trade policy. According to a comparative analysis of the extent of integration into the European market, of Croatian trade policy and the policies of applicant countries, as well as of the conditions placed before the applicants by the EU, and the specific features of the EU trade regime, we determine where Croatia is relative to the other applicants. The next section identifies the key measures that need passing in the Republic of Croatia for adjustment to the EU and its trade institutions and to facilitate the free movement of goods between Croatia and the EU. The conclusion is that during the transition period, the reforms necessary for joining the EU were not carried out, and that progress is slower than in the other applicant countries. However, since Croatia started the EU convergence process at a higher level of development than some of the applicants, this lagging behind in the preparations for accession have not entirely wiped out the "first-mover" advantages of Croatia. The question arises, however, as to whether these will completely disappear with the first phase in the imminent enlargement of the EU.

EU policy on the state aid granted by member countries to their national economies is based on a general presumption that state aid is incompatible with the running of the single market. The
European Commission has the right to ban any state aid that distorts market competition by extending privileges to certain firms and sectors (or by favouring certain firms and sectors. The EU instruction is that national state aid should be reduced and that it be reoriented towards horizontal objectives, for only then are they assisting all firms and sectors alike. In the Republic of Croatia government expenditure to promote the economy is considerable and mainly directed towards certain sectors: shipbuilding, tourism, transport and agriculture. It is to be expected that in order to comply with EU policy Croatia will have both to reduce the extent of state aid and redirect it towards horizontal objectives.