Dr. Jakša Puljiz, co-authoring with Matea Roknić, has published a paper titled “Experience with Implementation of IPA Assistance—Was Croatia a Success Story?” as a chapter in the book The Palgrave Handbook of European Union Enlargement and Pre-Accession Assistance, published by the renowned academic publisher Springer.
The chapter analyses Croatia’s experience with the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA), a key financial mechanism of the European Union in the process of preparing countries for membership. Croatia joined the European Union in 2013 following a complex negotiation process, during which the IPA programme played an important role in strengthening administrative capacities, particularly through staff training and the development of institutional structures.
The research findings show that, despite positive developments, the limited financial scope of pre-accession programmes reduced their broader developmental impact. The fragmentation of projects and the lack of an integrated reform approach made it more difficult to address deeper structural challenges. In addition, the effectiveness of IPA assistance was influenced by both external and internal factors, including frequent programme revisions, complex public procurement rules, the 2009 economic crisis, and limited institutional capacity.
In conclusion, the chapter demonstrates that IPA significantly contributed to Croatia’s capacity to manage EU funds after accession, but that its design limitations and insufficient integration with comprehensive national reforms reduced its long-term effectiveness.
The book The Palgrave Handbook of European Union Enlargement and Pre-Accession Assistance examines the development, design, and effects of pre-accession assistance across different waves of EU enlargement. It places particular emphasis on the comparative analysis of the experiences of candidate countries and Member States, providing insights into similarities and differences across cases, as well as the role of pre-accession instruments in shaping public policies and countries’ developmental trajectories on their path to EU membership.
The chapter is available at:
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-032-13349-6_4
