THE IMPACT OF THE EU ACCESSION PROCESS ON THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM IN CROATIA: OPPORTUNITIES AND OBSTACLES Dr Anamarija Musa, Faculty of Law, University.

THE IMPACT OF THE EU ACCESSION PROCESS ON THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM IN CROATIA: OPPORTUNITIES AND OBSTACLES

Dr Anamarija Musa, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Croatia

Conference ‘EU and Icelandic Public Administration: The Impact of the EEA and the EU Accession Process on the PAR in Iceland’, Reykjavik, 18th October 2012

CONTENT

THE OVERVIEW OF THE EU ACCESSION PROCESS IN CROATIA

THE EU AND ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM IN CROATIA

WHAT KIND OF EUROPEANIZATION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION ?

LESSONS THAT COULD BE DRAWN UPON CROATIAN EXPERIENCE

THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE EU-CROATIA RELATIONS15 January 1992 EU countries recognized the newly independent state Croatia (war 1991-1992);

Iceland was the first country that recognized Croatia (19 December 1991)

May – June 1999 The EC starts the Stabilisation and Association Process for Croatia and four other SEE Countries /Stability Pact/

2000 CARDS programme – an instrument for financial and technical assistance for SEE 2000-2006

29 Oct 2001 The Stabilisation and Association Agreement and the Interim agreement signed in Luxembourg

2002-2005 the application of Interim Agreement concerning trade and transport ; ratification of SAA

18 Dec 2002 Croatian Parliament adopted the Resolution on the Accession of the RC to the EU

21 Feb 2003 Croatia applied for EU membership

Jul-Oct 2003- Croatia preparing answers to the EC’s Questionnaire with 4.560 answers

20 Apr 2004 EC issued a positive opinion (avis) on Croatia’s EU membership application

18 Jun 2004 Croatia was granted the candidate status

18 May 2005 Croatian Parliament adopted documents and established the structure for negotiations monitoring

1 Feb 2005 The Stabilisation and Association Agreement entered into force

16 Mar 2005 The Council adopted the Negotiating framework for Croatia / opening of negotiations postponed

Oct 2005 the launching of negotiations / screening process started

Jun 2006 first chapter opened (Ch 25 Science and Research) and provisionally closed

Oct 2006 screening concluded

Dec 2006- Dec 2008

19 chapters opened during two years

Dec 2008- Oct 2009 negotiations blocked

Oct 2009- Jun 2011 rest of the chapters opened, all chapters closed (during one and a half year)

30 Jun 2011 accession negotiations formally closed

9 Dec 2011 Accession treaty signed / monitoring mechanism established

22 Jan 2012 referendum on accession

1 July 2013 Membership expected (17 countries ratified the Accession Treaty by 18 Oct 2012) plus monitoring mechanism in place (reports every six months)

KEY FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCED THE ACCESSION PROCESS (I)

EXTERNAL FACTORS

1. enlargement fatigue and low absorption capacity on the EU side after the Big bang enlargement

2. political and economic instability of the EU, the growth of Eurosceptic sentiment and extremist parties

3. instability in the region – carrots and sticks approach: Croatia as a model for others / strict monitoring

4. positive factor: lavish financial and technical support (CARDS, PHARE, IPA from 2007) (*)

http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/instruments/overview/index_en.htm

Country 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Albania 61.0 70.7 81.2 94.1 94.4 94.5 98.1

Bosnia & Herzegovina

62.1 74.8 89.1 105.3 107.4 107.8 111.8

Croatia 141.2 146.0 151.2 153.5 156.5 156.1 95.4

FYR Macedonia 58.5 70.2 81.8 91.6 98.0 101.8 117.2

Iceland - - - - 12.0 12.0 6Kosovo* 68.3 184.7 106.1 67.3 68.7 68.8 73.7

Montenegro 31.4 32.6 34.5 33.5 34.1 35.0 35.4

Serbia 189.7 190.9 194.8 197.9 201.8 202.0 214.7

Turkey 497.2 538.7 566.4 653.7 779.9 860.2 935.5

Multi-Beneficiary Programme

129.5 137.7 188.8 141.7 186.2 176.2 177.8

ShareLoading

EU ACCESSION FINANCING INSTRUMENTS (MIL.EUR)

KEY FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCED THE ACCESSION PROCESS (II)

DOMESTIC FACTORS

1. post-war state - priorities of Croatian policy – post war reconstruction, social policy and human rights issues, etc.

2. post-communist state - democratisation, institution building, privatization and economic development

3. globalisation forces – economic adaptation and restructuring

4. politicisation of the accession process itself fuelled by the EU vs independence debate

- independent nation state building, cooperation with the Hague tribunal for war crimes – delayed start of negotiations

KEY FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCED THE ACCESSION PROCESS (III)

5. BILATERAL DISPUTES AND CRITIQUES negotiations were blocked completely for 11 months by Slovenia (Dec

2008- Oct 2009), afterwards three chapters blocked UK and Netherlands having reservations on the chapter on judiciary and

human rights

6. DISBALANCE BETWEEN POLITICAL ELITES’ CONSENSUS ON EU MEMBERSHIP AS A MAIN POLICY GOAL AND PUBLIC SUPPORT Eurobarometer 2004-2009 – 24-35% in favour of the EU membership; (*) domestic opinion polls – 30-60% pro, changes in support related to

politically sensitive issues the issue of legitimacy – intensive legislative activity - citizens have no

say (*) ineffective EU communication strategy; late start of campaign constitutional amendments in 2010

2/3 of parliamentary votes plus referendum (50% of votes, no matter turnout) (*)

Parliamentary sessionPeriod

Legislative activity (total

number of laws enacted )

‘European laws’ (acquis adoption under European

procedure) (percentage)

VI 2008 – 2011 815 298 (36%)

V 2003– 2007 568 160 (28%)

IV 2000 - 2003 622 65 (10%)

Croatian EU membership referendum 22 Jan 2012

Number of voters

Percentage of total voters

Percentage of votes

Electorate 4.504.765 - -

Turnout 1.960.231 43.51% -

Yes vote 1.299.008 28.83% 66.27%

No vote 649.490 14.42% 33.3%

EU ACCESSION AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION – THE ROLE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN THE ACCESSION

State Delegation for Negotiations on the Accession - political talks, reports; 6 members ( minister of foreign affairs, Chief negotiator, two deputy chief negotiators, head of the Croatian mission to the EU and the secretary of the negotiating team)

Coordinating Committee for the Accession (an interdepartmental working body of the Government); reviews proposals (head of state delegation, vice prime minister, Chief Negotiator, ministers)

Negotiating Team for the Accession – expert and technical level; 16 members

35 Working Groups for the Preparation of Negotiations on Individual Chapters of the acquis

Office of the Chief Negotiator – expert and technical support to the Chief negotiator

Secretariat of the Negotiating Team

National Committee for Monitoring the Negotiations – parliamentary oversight body

In each ministry and other public organization – EU related organizational unit

cca 300 civil servants in the European studies programmes in EU

EU ACCESSION AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION – THE IMPACT OF THE EU ON PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND ITS REFORM (EUROPEANIZATION)

◦ the SIGMA support for CEE countries

◦ the concept of European Administrative Space - as a model for post-communist states rule of law and legal certainty accountability transparency and openness effectiveness and efficiency

◦ AREAS: LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND CIVIL SERVICE (administrative law and

administrative justice, civil service, HRM, quality of legislation, state building and democratic institutions)

PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT (financial management, internal audit, budgeting, EU funds management, external audit)

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

POLICY MAKING AND COORDINATION (centre of government, policy development)

EU SUPPORTED PROJECTS IN THE FIELD OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM

Various projects supporting administrative reform (EU funded, multilateral, bilateral), under the Ministry of public administration (2003-2009 State office for public administration)

Additionally, numerous projects in different ministries for specific policies (e.g. capacity development for justice administration, administrative justice, agriculture, intellectual property, tax administration, financial management in public sector etc.)

DURATION PROJECT CONTENT

November 2002 to December 2004

CARDS 2001 Public Administration Reform: Support to the Reform of the Civil Service

Civil service legislation; central civil service management system as well as building capacity for delivery of training programmes for civil servants on continuous basis

January 2006 to January 2008

CARDS 2003 Support to Implementation of the Civil Service Reform Programme

new Law on General Administrative Procedures

January 206 – January 2008

CARDS 2003 Capacity Strengthening for Administrative Decentralization

Technical assistance to the various expert groups established under Decentralization commission (e.g. health, education, social welfare, environmental protection); training strategy for local public servants

November 2008 - November 2010

PHARE 2006 Development of Institutional Capacity for the management of EU Structural Funds

supported development of the administrative and institutional capacities for the successful management of Structural Funds upon accession

January 2011to June 2012

IPA 2007 Development of Regulatory Impact Assessment System (RIA) (twinning with UK and Estonia)

Law on Regulatory Impact Assessment; capacity building of the Government Legislation Office

January 2011 - IPA 2007 Technical assistance for the Managing Authority of the Operational Programme “Administrative Capacity Development” (MA OP ACD);

ensuring preparation of the Managing Authority to be able to fulfil the functions and responsibilities related to the programming and management of the OP

ongoing IPA 2009 Twinning for the Managing Authority of the Operational Programme “Administrative Capacity Development” (MA OP ACD)

Follow up

2010-2012 IPA 2008 Enhancement of capacity for effective management of EU Cohesion policy funds

2010-2012 IPA 2008 Support to the Management, Monitoring and Evaluation of the Structural Instruments in Croatia

2010-2012 IPA 2008 Ex-ante evaluation of programming documents and strengthening evaluation capacity for EU funds post-accession

2011-2013 IPA 2008 Support to the Implementation of the General Administrative Procedures Act

support the implementation of the 2009 General Administrative Procedures Act (GAPA); simplification, large scale training scheme, public awareness and communications activities

MULTILATERAL PROJECTS

December 2004 to June 2005

Technical Assistance Loan II – World Bank project

Test methodology for functional review – specific recommendations for improvement of internal organizational structures and work processes in state administration

2006 – 2008

HITRORez (Regulatory guillotine) (Government of Croatia, USAID, UNDP, FIAS, Croatian Chamber of Economy, Croatian Chamber of Crafts, Croatian Employers Associations)

Administrative simplification project, as a part of regulatory reform

Continuously

SIGMA support PAR strategy development, 2010-2013 Civil Service HRD strategy, comparative studies on best assessment practice in the EU member states (e.g. salaries of civil servants)

BILATERAL PROJECTS

April 2005 to November 2005

2005 UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office: “Support to Public Administration Reform”

develop the capacity of the CSOA to lead and to support the PAR: preparation of guidelines for job classification system, defining and adapting contents of secondary legislation and regulations to ensure the new Law on Civil Service is enacted and harmonized with EU standards

December2007 to December 2008

Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and International Bank forReconstruction and Development (IBRD): Functional Review of Ten Central State Administration Bodies and their Supporting Agencies and in Five Selected Counties’ State Offices for Administration

project resulted with the set of recommendations for reorganisation of state administration bodies, and proposals of general principles for organisation of state administration bodies

January 2007- June 2008

Denmark’s Pre-Accession Assistance to Croatia Public Sector Capacity Development (I) 2005-2007

support the Civil Service Training Centre, development of training curricula

October 2008-October 2010

Denmark’s Pre-Accession Assistance to Croatia Strengthening the Capacity of Public Administration (II)2008-2010

supported the work of the Civil Servants Training Centre, the development oftraining curricula and methodology and an overall strengthening of the state administration human resources capacities

Ongoing MATRA flex Netherlands Support to the Introduction of Electronic Data Exchange Between Key Registers where the beneficiary is Ministry of Public Administration

ongoing MATRA flex Netherland s and Ministry of Public Administration 'Capacity Building of the Agency for personal data protection in the field of access to information' and 'Capacity Building for the School of Public Administration and assistance in EU training programme development’

STRUCTURE OF THE GOVERNMENT (PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION)

EU administrative units in ministries and other organisations in charge for EU related affairs

Special units in ministries and other organisations for specific purposes (EU funds, EU projects, special issues)

Agencification – creation of numerous independent agencies as a consequence of EU acquis adoption ◦ Regulatory agencies – electronic communication,

competition, financial sector, energy, medicines◦ Executive agencies – agriculture, structural funds,

environment, health, education, etc.◦ Regional development agencies

◦ The problem of coordination and control

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW AND ADMINISTRATIVE JUSTICE

the new Law on administrative procedure, in force from 2009 – citizen oriented, simplified procedures, higher standards of protection, protection of users of public services (e.g. telecom, energy services providers)

Still more than 60 special administrative procedures – have to be abolished

administrative judiciary – two tiers court system introduced in 2012 (Law on administrative disputes 2010), procedure modernized

training of civil servants regarding the implementation of the Law

CIVIL SERVICE AND HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Law on Civil Service in force from 2006 – European standards included (centralized recruitment, merit principle), but some issues still not regulated (e.g. salaries system, advancement)

Still strong politicisation at the top of the state administration

Civil servants training system – State School for Public Administration 2010

Public servants register (civil servants, public servants) established in 2011 – for the purpose of HRM and budgeting

REGULATORY REFORM and POLICY MAKING

Three stages in the regulatory reform◦ Administrative simplification (partially successful) ◦ Public consultation Code ◦ Regulatory impact assessment (Law 2011; in force

from 1 January 2013)

Strengthening the Centre of government – partially tackled

REGIONAL POLICY

Territorial government in Croatia consists of three levels – state, 20 regions, 555 local units (cities and municipalities)

Statistical units introduced (three NUTS II regions; two regions from 2013)

Financial support – EU funds (Cards 2001-2004; Phare, ISPA, SAPARD 2005-2007; IPA 2007-2013)

Currently, six authorities engaged in coordination of EU funds, one agency for administration of funds, and numerous sectoral bodies and agencies for implementation

ANTICORRUPTION POLICY

One of the key policies monitored by the EC / Council of Europe support

Complex coordinating structure developed Important role of civil society Adoption of legislation and capacity building in the

area of

1. Conflict of interest (for public officials -politicians)

2. Ethics and integrity (for civil servants, judges, public servants, such as doctors, university teachers)

3. Access to information

4. Financing of political parties

5. Whistleblowers protection

6. Governance of public enterprises

THE EXTENT OF EUROPEANISATION AND MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

Shallow Europeanization? The Ministry established and the Strategy of reform adopted

too late? Local governments and domestic expert advice often

neglected Civil society very active (anticorruption policy, human rights,

local governance, sectoral policies, especially environment) Public services – sectoral reforms of big systems slow and

moderate (health, education, etc.) Conservative forces (trade unions, local governments) and

populist politics impeded the reform, reluctant to take the burden; values change slowly

2012 European Commission report underlines tasks that have to be accomplished by the date of accession (judiciary and anticorruption, public administration reform, among others)

IS IT POSSIBLE TO LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF CROATIA (AS A MODERATELY SUCCESFUL POST-COMMUNIST ACCEEDING COUNTRY)?

Big differences – political and administrative culture, membership of European associations, democracy level, economic development

But some similarities – young states, small countries on the European periphery, natural resources, time of accession, financial and economic crisis, globalization forces

Possible directions Develop effective strategy of public administration reform and

good action plan for its implementation and monitoring Develop human resources management and training in the civil

service Strengthen the usage of expert advice and the role of civil society Include local governments in the process Inform citizens on the EU accession process & develop

communication strategy on time Seek bilateral and multilateral assistance for projects

Thank you for your attention!

Contact: [email protected]