Submitted New Plan for Brodosplit, European Commission Satisfied

The European Commission will decide on Wednesday at its meeting regarding the proposal for a new contract for the privatization of Brodosplit, which is one of the 10 tasks that Croatia needs to fulfill, while the other tasks have already been completed or are nearing completion, emphasized Dirk Lange, a representative of the European Commission, on Monday in Brussels.

Lange, who is responsible for Croatia in the Directorate-General for Enlargement of the European Commission, participated in a discussion at the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament and informed its members about the developments ahead of the latest monitoring report, which the Commission will publish on March 21. According to Lange’s statement, Croatia can expect a positive report.

– I am pleased to inform you that Croatia has submitted a new plan for the privatization of Brodosplit. The Commission will decide on this at the meeting on Wednesday, and we expect a positive decision. In that case, the signing of the privatization contract can be expected by the end of this month – said Lange.

Lange also informed the representatives that Croatia has established a commission for the prevention of conflicts of interest, that the construction of border crossings near Neum has been accelerated, which will be completed by March 31, and that the work on translating the European legal acquis has significantly accelerated, which should be completed by July 1. – The translation has been significantly accelerated, and if this pace continues, the work will be completed by the time of EU membership, but not by the date of the Commission’s report publication – said Lange.

The Commission, in its Comprehensive Monitoring Report published in October last year, identified 10 tasks that Croatia needs to fulfill by the anticipated membership entry date of July 1, 2013. These ten tasks are: signing the privatization contract for Brodosplit and taking necessary measures to find a sustainable solution for the shipyards 3. maj and Brodotrogir in order to complete the restructuring of shipbuilding; implementing short-term measures developed in September 2012 to strengthen the efficiency of the judiciary and reduce the number of backlog court cases; adopting laws to ensure the implementation of court decisions and reduce the number of unimplemented decisions; establishing a Commission for Conflict of Interest so that it can start operating; adopting a new law on the right to access information to strengthen the legal and administrative framework in the area of access to information; adopting legal acts to ensure the implementation of the police law; completing the construction of border crossings on the Neum corridor; employing border police officers in accordance with the targeted number for 2012; completing and adopting a migration strategy with clearly defined measures for the integration of the most vulnerable groups of migrants; strengthening the capacity for translating and revising the legal acquis to fulfill this task by the day of entry into the EU.