Vandoren: If Brammertz’s Report Is Not Positive, Negotiations Will Be Prolonged

The European Union Ambassador to Croatia, Paul Vandoren, warned that Croatia will not complete negotiations within the set timeframe if it does not receive a satisfactory cooperation assessment with the Hague Tribunal in the regular report of Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz to the Security Council.

This clearly indicates that cooperation with the Tribunal remains one of the prerequisites for closing the chapter on justice and fundamental rights. The European Union seems to be slowly losing patience with the Croatian Government. In a very short span of just a few days, high officials have clearly indicated on three occasions that Croatia’s path to the Union may be nearing its end, but that does not mean it is finished. The latest in a series of sharp statements was made by Paul Vandoren at a business event of the American Chamber of Commerce. In a brief and very substantive address to those present, Vandoren listed all that the Union expects from Croatia before full membership. Although these are recurring themes, the tone in which recent remarks towards Croatia have been expressed has noticeably sharpened.

The Ambassador confirmed in the introduction that Croatia will be the 28th member, but immediately added that he would not speak about timelines, meaning that the date depends on meeting conditions, which arise directly from two chapters in the negotiations, 23 and 8, Justice and Fundamental Rights and Competition. In the case of the first, the Union expects Croatia to strengthen the professionalism and independence of Croatian judges through a more transparent selection system, reduce backlog cases, and continue the fight against corruption, where more transparent financing of political parties, better definition of conflicts of interest, and freedom of information are three issues of particular interest. Furthermore, Vandoren noted that merely raising indictments is not enough and that the Union expects full implementation of legal frameworks, including concrete judgments as a guarantee that the fight is being conducted and continued.

Recalling a recent statement by his colleague Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights, and Citizenship, in which she said that the Union is not interested in half-measures, Vandoren also added the issue of minorities, namely their rights and representation in institutions as another area where progress is expected. The next acute point is shipyards as a fundamental prerequisite for negotiations in the chapter on competition. The European Commission expects new restructuring plans, Vandoren said, and those shipyards that do not receive the green light from the Commission will have to be closed. State guarantees and direct subsidies are not possible, he reminded.

In addition to these most important objections, the ambassador mentioned three additional ones, relating to the absorption capacity of the Croatian public administration and its ability to offer quality projects for EU funds, which are currently scarce, the lack of clear support from citizens for Croatia’s entry into the Union, in which it is still waiting for the Government’s campaign plan towards citizens, and the problem of direct foreign investments, which are simply not sufficient. There is an impression that Croatia is not open enough and that the investment climate has not particularly improved in recent years, he stated, citing the example of Romania, where foreign investments accounted for about 35 percent of GDP just before entry, while in Croatia that figure in 2008, the last ‘good’ year, was nine percent, and even that nine percent consisted of privatizations and acquisitions, not greenfield investments. Vandoren explained once again that the poor climate is created by corruption, a non-transparent public procurement system, inefficient judiciary, and slow administration. (Vanja Figenwald)