Croatia Forum

[franeymoon]

Croatia struggles to beat back corruption levels

By Natasa Radic for Southeast European Times in Zagreb -- 11/09/2006


Rampant corruption remains the biggest challenge facing Croatia and its EU accession bid. The major political and anti-corruption institutions in the country, as well as the NGOs, are focusing on this problem in hopes of finding a solution before it mars chances for Euro-Atlantic integration.



EU negotiators put the screening process for the Judiciary sector on hold this spring, due to dissatisfaction with the pace of reforms. The Union announced that the negotiation process for the judiciary and human rights chapter would resume this fall.

According to the government, the process was halted because of "technical difficulties", but according to numerous NGOs based in Croatia, the real problem was corruption that entangles the sector. What has been resolved is not visible enough. Although reforms are being implemented, there is a huge backlog of court cases -- the majority of simple court cases take years to be resolved.

According to the 2005 EU Progress Report, "Despite some progress in setting up the necessary legislative and institutional framework, efforts aimed at tackling corruption, which remains a serious problem in Croatia, need to be further stepped up."

Relief may be provided by Justice Minister Ana Lovrin, who took over the position in February. She has issued measures to try to speed up the reforms and facilitate the work of the courts.

A World Bank report released on 26 July suggests that corruption in the customs sector has decreased. "In Croatia, firms reported bribes to be less frequent in many areas, notably customs. The improvements come on the heels of reforms emphasising risk-based assessment and more selective auditing, which reduces discretion in the selection of items for physical inspection. Croatia has expanded selectivity and risk management techniques and extensively reduced the number of physical exams."

Croatia is not the only candidate country confronting these issues. The story is the same in Bulgaria and Romania -- which are expected to join the Union in January. Acknowledging how fragile, slow and complicated the process of fighting corruption is, the EU has approved a significant amount of financial help.

Transparency International Croatia -- as part of the National Programme for Suppression of Corruption -- has opened an "anti-corruption" phone line for the public to call and report instances of corruption. More than 40 per cent of the calls involve corruption in judiciary. The health care sector was second with over 10 per cent, while third place went to the private business sector.

More than 5,500 people called the hotline over a period of 14 months. The project, financed by the EU, gave the government some guidelines on locating corruption epicentres.

After the European Commission in Brussels decided that the country needed to show more concrete results in fighting corruption, officials in Zagreb announced that they are ready and willing to give a new impetus to the fight, especially in the areas of the judiciary and health care. By demonstrating the determination to end corruption, the government wants to stress its willingness to achieve European standards and transparency.

According to recent polls by Transparency International Croatia, more than 80 per cent of Croatians consider the corruption in health care to be a major social and public issue.

A full-scale fight against corruption in health care resulted in the arrest last month of cardiac surgeon Ognjen Simic, who is head of the cardiovascular department at Rijeka Hospital Clinic. Simic was apprehended after taking a 5,000-euro bribe to move a patient to the top of surgery waiting list. He is the highest-ranking physician arrested in a corruption scheme.

After the arrest, anti-corruption officials announced that Simic was not alone in his work; a network around him facilitated this surgery scheduling. Police refuse to comment on any additional arrests, but the local press is speculating.

As the health care system in Croatia is mostly state run, waiting lists are long. Patients get closer to the operating table if they use connections or give an extra "incentive" to the surgeon. Public Health Minister Neven Ljubicic said he is aware of the corruption problem, yet presumes only a small number of doctors are corrupt. "Still, they paint a bad picture [for the whole sector]," Ljubicic said in a recent interview, adding that given Simic's arrest, people will be more determined to report medical personnel who require bribes for their services.

"Strong leadership is a key weapon in the fight against corruption. Every country that has made measurable progress in reducing corruption has had a strong champion who made transparency and accountability a top priority," explains World Bank sector director Cheryl Gray.

Although the country is making an effort to marshal more resources in the fight against corruption, the road ahead is long and rocky. The battle will require the participation of not only the government and NGOs, but also members of the public, who will most benefit from this trend.


taken from South European Times