Croatia: Expected Benefits from the EU Candidate Country Status

Name of client
Delegation of the European Commission

Origin of funding
Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, Friedrich Ebert Foundation

Dates (start/end)
March 2004 – July 2004

Description of project - Main objectives:

Political Aspects:

to present various aspects of Croatia’s EU candidacy and to give an assessment of Croatia’s progress in fulfilling the obligations stemming from the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA);
to discuss the political aspects of Croatia’s candidate country status and its significance for the region of Western Balkans;
to encourage the expert debate on the significance of Croatia’s application for EU membership
to emphasise the importance of European Partnerships and its meaning for Croatia’s preparation for the EU candidate country status
to provide an opportunity for an evaluation of the EU policy towards the countries of Western Balkans one year after the Thessaloniki summit;

Economic Aspects:

to highlight the major benefits of the status of the candidate country;
to address the current and future economic challenges of Croatia’s preparation for EU membership;
to encourage the debate on the EU pre-accession programmes (ISPA, SAPARD) and to discuss the prospects of introducing the EU cohesion policy instruments for Croatia;
to discuss the first evaluation report on CARDS programme, its main characteristics and implications;

Type of services provided

Institute for International Relations