Croatian Accession to the European Union: Facing the Challenges of Negotiations

This chapter summarizes the findings of the three year long project of monitoring Croatia’s preparations for EU accession, if and when it comes, performed by a group of Croatian researchers. The first hypothesis is that a kind of real integration of Croatia in the European space already exists and that it should be further deepened through improvements of the relevant institutions and harmonisation with European standards and requirements. The second is that despite the professed dedication of Croatia’s government to joining the EU and encouraging signals from the EU, hesitations in structural and institutional reforms may hamper not only the success of future negotiations and delay Croatia’s accession, but also the transformation to a modern and efficient state. The first part of the chapter analyses the changes in the last couple of years in Croatia regarding the administrative and judicial structure, economic sustainability and democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms; the second part emphasizes the effects of the latest EU enlargement, competitive pressures and market forces, the free movement of workers, knowledge and innovations, social issues, the real estate market and spatial planning, and regional policy. The chapter ends with conclusions and recommendations. We would lay stress on the necessity of structural reforms in legislation, the judiciary and the public administration, the restructuring of agriculture and shipbuilding, the privatization of public utilities and tourism; patient and shrewd negotiations with the EU, and the possibility of bearing in mind some kind of virtual membership that could help us deepen de facto integration even without de jure membership status. Croatia’s future will depend on capabilities of the government to implement and enforce the reforms and on the readiness of citizens to endure necessary adjustments even when they are painful, making certain sacrifices in the present for the sake of benefit in the future.European Union, Croatia, accession, transformation

Croatian Accession to the European Union: Economic and Legal Challenges

This chapter aims to summarise and analyse the project that involves the work of a group of experts whose ambition it is to help those who make the political decisions, the media and interested readers to understand the requirements of the EU and the situation in Croatia, to draw concrete conclusions and make recommendations for essential measures. Part one raises the question of whether the EU is fiction or reality, part two puts Croatia in the context of the EU, while the third part concentrates on macroeconomics, banking and finances, taxes, government aid, trade policy, power, agriculture, employment and unemployment, the legal system, the non-governmental sector and equality between men and women. Part four analyses key questions of Croatia’s accession to the EU – regulation within the EU itself, the normative and real harmonisation of Croatia and the EU, Croatian advantages and its points of vulnerability, and a comparison of Croatia with member countries and candidate countries. The chapter also offers a number of recommendations for individual areas, while particular stress is placed upon recommendations that relate to the importance of the public administration and the independent agencies, the question of whether it is better to make adjustments at once or only when they are essential, and the attitude to regional initiatives. The message of the paper is that most of the criteria of Maastricht, Copenhagen and the Stabilisation and Association Agreement are posed in such a way that they can only be of benefit to the country. Our goal ought to be to live in a society that meets as many of these criteria as possible, and whether Croatia will, in so doing, be a member of the EU or of some other association, or an association with some other name that will be relevant at the time Croatia has achieved all this is less important. The EU may help Croatia in its economic and social development, but only the citizens of Croatia can achieve economic development, institutions that are more efficient, and a society that is going to respect the laws and the rights of individuals.European Union, Croatia, economic and legal adjustment

Croatian Accession to the European Union: Institutional Challenges

The objective of this chapter is to sum up the results of the monitoring of Croatia's accession to the European Union (EU). This is a project in which a number of authors have taken part, each of them wanting in his or her own area to draw the attention of the politicians, experts, the media and the public to the requirements of the EU, and the weaknesses and strengths of Croatia, and to offer their recommendations for a better and faster accession to the EU, as well as a better and faster development of both the economy and society. After an introduction in which stress is placed on the importance of institutions for the development of the economy and society, the second part starts off optimistically with the opinions of others concerning us, goes on pessimistically with EU views about itself and its own development, and in part three the results are summed up in terms of topics – macroeconomics, the budget deficit, poverty, inequality and social exclusion, the rule of law and the judiciary, governance and the public administration, consumer and environmental protection, and legal aspects of the protection of ethnic minorities, science and higher education, and social values. In the fourth part, there is consideration of what has changed in Croatia during the year since the printing of the previous book; in the fifth, the degree of Croatian preparedness to join the EU is discussed; in the sixth, recommendations are offered for as good an adjustment as possible; and in the seventh, conclusions. Very briefly, it can be concluded that Croatia is working hard at implementing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) and at adjusting to EU requirements, but that a better implementation of regulations will be required, together with a more rapid establishment of new, and a better functioning of existing, institutions. Crucial in this respect are problems in the public administration, in conjunction with the establishment and strengthening of the institutions essential for market liberalisation. This project too shows, once again, that irrespective of developments within the EU itself and its attitude with respect to Croatia, the country needs to work on its own institutions, launch the necessary reforms as rapidly and thoroughly as possible, and achieve better results in knowledge and education; in addition, the active participation of all those involved in the process is also a matter of vital importance.European Union, Croatia, institutional adjustment

Racing on Two Different Tracks: Using Substantive Due Process to Challenge Tracking in Schools

Tracking is a widespread educational practice where secondary schools divide students into different classes or “tracks” based on their previous achievements and perceived abilities. Tracking produces different levels of classes, from low ability to high ability, based on the theory that students learn better when grouped with others at their own level. However, tracking often segregates students of color and low socioeconomic status into low-tracked classes and these students do not receive the same educational opportunities as white and/or wealthier students. Students and parents have historically challenged tracking structures in their schools using an Equal Protection Clause framework. However, this legal framework does not currently provide much relief for students in schools without a history of intentional discriminatory practices. Alternatively, the Due Process Clause can potentially provide another framework for plaintiffs to challenge tracking. Though the Supreme Court has rejected a fundamental right to education, it has recognized the possibility of a fundamental right to a minimally adequate education. Furthermore, other state constitutions have recognized a fundamental right to education or at least a minimally adequate education. According to the standards that currently govern the doctrine for a minimally adequate education, social science evidence focused on tracking’s impacts shows that this educational practice likely violates that right. Challenging tracking in states that recognize such rights under a substantive due process claim may provide a more effective litigation strategy

The underground economy in Croatia

This article is a succinct description of research into the underground economy (UE) in Croatia in the 1990 to 2000 period. The circumstances surrounding and the reasons for the origin of the UE are explained, the dimensions of and changes in the UE are estimated at the level of the whole of the economy and in terms of certain industries. Also the socio-cultural and institutional dimensions of the UE are analysed, including the influence of formal and informal norms, privatisation, poverty, self-employment and so on. Various evaluation methods give different results ñ the national accounting discrepancy between income and expenditures method (below: national accounting discrepancy method) shows a growth of the UE from 1990 to a maximum of 37% of GDP in 1993 and a steady reduction to 7% of GDP in 2000. In accordance with that method in the 1990-1995 period, the UE came on average to about 25%, and in 1996-2000 to an average of 10% of GDP. The Eurostat method and estimates of tax evasion coincide with these trends, while two monetary methods and the consumption of electrical energy method show a rise in the UE in the 1995-1999 period, with trends at annual levels of between 22 and 34% and a fall in 2000. With reservations because of the uneven results obtained by these various methods and because of uncertainty whether this is a matter of a genuine reduction of the UE or of an improvement in statistics, we nevertheless have to conclude that this research indicates that there has been a genuine reduction in the UE. The results of the project indicate a negative correlation between the UE and GDP growth, then work ìon the blackî as the main reason for the UE, and the differentiation of statistical and economic reasons for the UE. Reasons for the reduction of the UE might be an improvement of the statistical system, a change in the structure of consumption, the introduction of VAT, the stabilisation of the large retail systems, the entry of foreign firms into the Croatian market, a change in the image of the government and so on. Unfortunately, there is still a lack of the kind of transparency and quality of public services that would have a considerable impact on the further reduction of the UE. The basic recommendation of this research is that for any reduction of the UE, it is more important to prevent the causes than to penalise the consequences, and in connection with this it is the institutional sphere that is crucial, the relationship of the government and the economy, i.e., the speed with which the government redefines its role in the market. Basic recommendations are also put forward for the improvement of institutions, for example, of the government, the process of privatisation, statistics, the tax system, the pensions system and so on

Mapping The Understanding Complex in Russell's Theory of Knowledge

Anyone familiar with Russell’s work on the multiple-relation theory of judgment will at some point have puzzled over the map of the five-term understanding complex at the end of Chapter 1, Part II of his Theory of Knowledge (1913). Russell presents the map with the intention of clarifying what goes on when a subject S understands the “proposition” that A and B are similar. But the map raises more questions than it answers. In this paper I present and develop some of the central issues that arise from Russell’s map, and I offer an interpretation of it that reflects his evolving views in the manuscript. I argue that multiple lines in the map are not meant to represent many relations, but rather one comprehensive multiple relation of understanding. And I argue that such a relation relates in a complex way due to the distinctive nature of its relata

Tax administration reform in transition: the case of Croatia

This Occasional Paper reports the research results of a project on the tax administration in Croatia conducted by the Institute of Public Finance in Zagreb for the Croatian Tax Administration. The project team report was finalised in summer 1997 and it includes ten papers which are published in Croatian in the Institute’s journal “Financijska praksa”, Volume 22 , Number 1-2 (April 1998). This paper is the summary of the project written by Katarina Ott (Institute of Public Finance)