Stability Pact: Press Releases

12 June 2001, Brussels (back to news list)

The Stability Pact and Croatia

What is the Stability Pact?

The Pact is a political initiative to encourage and strengthen co-operation between the countries of South Eastern Europe as well as to streamline existing efforts for assisting South Eastern Europe’s political, economic and security integration in Europe. The Pact does not implement the projects, which were placed under its auspices during the First regional Funding Conference of March 2000. It is an instrument to co-ordinate and possibly accelerate the projects of all its partners, such as the European Commission, NATO and OSCE, the International Financial Institutions, the member states of the European Union, other Stability Pact partners such as the United States, Russia, Hungary, Canada, Norway and Switzerland as well as all the countries of south eastern Europe. (FRY joined October 26 2000).

The Stability Pact has 3 Working Tables with 244 projects under the Quick Start Programme (82% of these projects have started between March 2000 and March 2001) with an overall financial engagement of 2.4 bio Euro for the region as a whole. Working Table I is dealing with Democratisation & Human Rights, Working Table II with Economic Reconstruction, Development and Co-operation, Working Table III with Security (one Sub-table Security and Defence, one Sub-table Justice and Home Affairs).

WORKING TABLE I
DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
PROJECTS IN CROATIA

Quick Start Package projects in Croatia are evenly spread in all sectors of Working Table I. However, the highest funded sector is in the area of Refugees amounting € 119 451 492.

In view of the regional context of QSP fundings, it is difficult to identify Croatia-specific funding. The following data is a repartition of sectoral funding where Croatia is one of the beneficiary countries. The total amount of QSP funding where Croatia is included is about € 137 028 619 (including the refugee projects), covering 31 different initiatives/projects.

Refugees

There are three projects including Croatia for a total of € 119 451 492. All are underway and nearing completion.

Media

There are seven regional projects where Croatia is one of the beneficiary countries for a total amount of € 4 936 784. Most are underway without difficulties encountered.

Education

There are also seven regional projects for a total of about € 4 569 400. All are underway and implemented without problems.

Parliamentary Co-operation

All four QSP parliamentary co-operation projects involve Croatian Parliament, with a total of € 3 572 564.

Human Rights and National Minorities

There are seven regional projects for a total of € 3 072 329. The project on the Postgraduate School of Economics for SEE located in Slovenia has all the infrastructure ready but no financial resources have been received.

Gender

There are three regional projects for a total of € 1 426 050. All of these projects are well underway and most have been completed already.

WORKING TABLE II
ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION, DEVELOPMENT AND CO-OPERATION
PROJECTS IN CROATIA

Croatia participates actively in the Task Force of the Regional Environment Reconstruction Programme. It had the first co-chair of the e-South East Europe Initiative until June 30 2001 (new co-chair will be Macedonia). It also participates actively in the Stability Pact Initiative for Social Cohesion.

Infrastructure Projects within the Quick Start Package

(4101) ROADS - SECTIONS OF CORRIDOR Vb

Cost 210 Mio Euro; 100 Mio Euro as QSP and 110 as Near Term. This project is struck mostly for the unresolved issue on the role of a pre-existing private concession agreement

(II.B.4201) RAILWAYS - SECTIONS OF CORRIDOR Vc

Cost 97 Mio Euro. EIB loan approved on 20 February 2001, Financial agreement under way. Specification available, procurement could start in few months after financial agreement

(II. B. 4701) RIJEKA WATER SEWAGE

Cost 8.14 Mio Euro. Work (including equipment) Contract: awarding in last finalisation stage

(II.B.8102) TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION FACILITATION PROGRAM FOR SOUTHEAST Europe

Croatia component cost: 22.1 Mio Euro. Under implementation

(II.B.4702) ADRIATIC SEA ENVIRONMENTAL MASTER PLAN (Study)

Estimated cost 800.000 Euro. Delayed to withdrawal of initial funder. SCSP succeeded in securing new funding from Italy. According to the last info from EIB, Croatia government seems ready to sign the due agreements with donor and leading agency (EIB).

Private Sector Development in Croatia

Croatia is benefiting from EBRD Programs, for which donors and International Financial Institutions pledged more than 350 Mio Euro at the Regional Funding Conference in March 2000.

All in all 9 programs, most important:

Trade Facilitation Programs (EBRD): exceeds original expectation. Actual utilisation for trade transactions 40 Mio Euro. Actual Trade volume up to four times higher than agreed limits (because of short-term nature of guarantees).
Political Risk Guarantee is being established. Includes a regional grant supported fund to issue political risk guarantees to develop SME activities in SEE.

Trade

Croatia is to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Trade Liberalisation and Facilitation on 27 June 2001 in Brussels together with other countries of the SEE region. The main objective of the MoU is to complete the network of free trade agreements in the SEE region by the end of 2002. Tariff reduction and elimination of free trade barriers are in the focus of the document. The free trade agreements are going to meet the same standards and the same level and coverage of tariff reduction, fully in line with WTO rules.

WORKING TABLE III
SECURITY ISSUES
PROJECTS IN CROATIA

Sub-Table on Defence and Security Issues

The Sub-Table has focused on six priority areas: Defence Reform and Economics; Arms Control, Non-Proliferation and Military Contacts; Small arms and Light Weapons; Humanitarian Demining; Disaster Preparedness and Prevention.

Croatia assumed the co-chairmanship of the Working Table on Security in January 2001. During its co-chairmanship Croatia worked to further enhance Stability Pact’s close co-ordination with NATO and its Partnership for Peace Programme, in order to prepare programmes of mutual interest that could be started or implemented during that period.

The work of the Defence and Security subtable focuses on projects range from institution building to overall regional co-operation. This process covers the following themes:

Disaster Preparedness and Planning Initiative (DPPI)

Croatia actively participates and has been a leading country in the initiative, being member of the Operational Team together with Italy, USA, NATO, UN, ICRC and Bulgaria. The Regional Report drafted by the Operational Team has just been published: This report and the recommendations therein will provide the basis for discussions in the senior level workshop in Geneva on 26-27 June 2001.

Experiencing grave fires during the summer period in recent years, Croatia proposed the establishment a Regional disaster management centre in Divulje/Split, which would enhance regional capabilities in the disaster prevention and preparedness, especially in fighting fires of open spaces and rescuing at sea.

Connected with DPPI, Croatia proposed to hold a Forest Fire Fighting exercise which is in line to take place at May 2002. The planning authority NATO’s EADRCC (Euro Atlantic Disaster Response Co-ordination Center) established contact with the Croatian authorities on 5-6 June 2001.

Landmine Destruction

Still affected by scattered land mines, Croatia actively participates in the work of Forum for Co-operation on Mine Action in South Eastern Europe, the "Reay Group". The meeting in Zagreb on 11-12 December 2000 set the future direction of the Reay Group: testing new technologies, destruction of stockpiles and training.

Arms Control

Regional verification centre (RACVIAC), a bilateral German-Croatian project funded by Germany amounting to 6 Mio DEM for 3 years, was opened in October last year. The first seminar, Military Contacts and Programs for Military Co-operation in South Eastern Europe, was organised from 22 to 25 January 2001.

Defence Reform

The Croatian Ministry of Defence is focused on establishing a large civilian core structure, particularly in several functional areas, such as defence policy and planning, personnel, procurement and resource management in order to ensure full civilian control over the military, with a transparent military budget.

Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW)

Croatia has invested significant financial means directly from its national budget to address and regulate this problem and develop an environment-friendly method of destruction of illegal and excess stocks of SALW. The method has been demonstrated in February 2000, and qualified as of highest efficiency and quality.

Sub-Table on Justice and Home Affairs

Anticorruption initiative (SPAI): Mr. Dubravko Palijaš, Assistant Minister of Justice, has been appointed Senior Representative of the Government for the implementation of SPAI.
Organised Crime Initiative (SPOC): Mr Dragutin Cestar, Assistant Minister from the Ministry of the Interior was appointed Senior Representative for SPOC, and has assumed the chairmanship of the Initiative for the following six months.
Asylum and Migration : during its co-chairmanship, Croatia has supported the establishment of the Steering Committee for Asylum and Migration Issues, which should include all interested partners based on the objectives of facilitating the adoption of EU standards and practices in the countries of the region. Croatia regards that progress in this area should be achieved without delay. Croatia has drafted a new Law on Asylum, in close co-operation with the UNHCR, OSCE and the Council of Europe.
Co-chaired by the EU Presidency (Swedish State Secretary Gun-Britt Andersson) and Croatian Amb. Drobjnak, the Migration and Asylum Initiative (MAI) was adopted by the first Steering Committee Meeting. The Country Teams for the five SAP-countries are just being put together. Apart from Croatia, Germany, Austria and Slovenia together with the international organisations are part of the team.
The Government of Croatia is strongly involved in the police forum, in which it maintains the co-chair with the Norwegians. The first two training modules will be hosted in Croatia on Trafficking in Human Beings and Trafficking of Drugs.