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

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The article analyses the key challenges faced by local government units in Croatia in using European Union funds. The findings identify four main challenges: limited human capacity, difficulties in ensuring financial sustainability, the administrative complexity of EU funds, and the influence of politics on the processes of EU fund management. The article contributes to the debate on the need for a comprehensive reform of the local self-government system in Croatia, advocating territorial amalgamation as one of the key mechanisms for strengthening absorption capacity. Such an approach is recognised as a prerequisite for more effective implementation of cohesion policy and the achievement of balanced regional development.

The article is available at:
https://doi.org/10.31297/hkju.26.1.1

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The authors argue that the economics of public procurement satisfies Abbott’s criteria for a distinct subfield of economics. They define it as follows: “The economics of public procurement is an applied subfield of economics that studies how procurement rules, and the decisions of public buyers and bidders, shape outcomes before contract award (e.g. participation, bids, contract terms) and after award (contract execution and performance), and how these outcomes in turn affect firms, markets, and broader economic impacts.” 

In the paper, the authors summarize the key empirical and theoretical contributions in the economics of public procurement and organize them within a five-stage procurement cycle, allowing findings from the literature to be compared and linked across the entire process, from planning to economic consequences. 

The five stages of the public procurement cycle used by the authors as an analytical framework are: 

1. Needs planning 

1. Tender preparation and publication 

1. Competition and contract award 

1. Contract execution 

1. Economic consequences 

Public procurement is important because it is the channel through which public funds—often including EU funds—are transformed into tangible infrastructure and services, while simultaneously shaping markets, competition, and development outcomes. 

Public procurement accounts for around 15% of GDP, yet despite its size, empirical evidence on what actually works in public procurement remains relatively limited. The authors therefore call for the systematic development of an empirical evidence base on “what works in public procurement” to support better policymaking. 

CEPR link: https://cepr.org/publications/dp21110 

CEPR is an international network of leading economists and researchers that promotes independent, empirically grounded research on economic policy, with the aim of informing public debate and decision-making in Europe and beyond. 

SSRN link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5968455 

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The book is divided into three larger sections: knowledge about the European Union and project application for the open calls; general knowledge for success in preparing and implementing EU projects and specific topics for success and achievement of goals in EU projects. The first unit contains four chapters: Strategic Priorities and the Budget of the European Union by Jakša Puljiz, which provides an overview of the EU’s institutional and strategic framework and presents its budgetary framework; Administrative Aspects of Preparing and Implementing EU Projects by Vedran Đulabić, which provides an overview of the basic concepts that need to be mastered in order to understand the administrative aspects of managing EU funds; EU Cohesion Policy and Development in Croatia by Sanja Maleković, Jakša Puljiz and Ivana Keser, which provides knowledge about Cohesion Policy and the EU’s impact on development in Croatia; and Project Planning, Call Application and Implementation by Karolina Horvatinčić, which provides very concrete practical knowledge about the project planning methodology; applying for a project idea in a call for grants; capacities for successful implementation; relevance, project sustainability and horizontal themes, and information on the contracting and project implementation procedures.

The second unit focuses on the general knowledge needed for the success of an EU project. Thus, the chapter by Sanja Tišma, Sanja Maleković and Jakša Puljiz Introduction to Strategic Planning presents the theoretical framework for strategic planning and highlights its significance, the key questions it provides answers to, and the key characteristics of each strategic planning process. Mislav Ante Omazić, Petra Gracin and Marko Šimac in the chapter Managerial Knowledge and Skills for Project Managementprovide a comprehensive overview of key competencies associated with effective and efficient project management knowledge and skills.

The last section presents four chapters through the possibilities of financing projects from various areas: sustainable development; infrastructure and construction projects; social cohesion, urban development and social innovation; and cultural/creative industries. The chapter Sustainable Development by Ana-Maria Boromisa, Zoran Grgić and Branka Šakić, in addition to the definition and goals of sustainable development at the global, European and Croatian levels, explains the intertwining of social, economic and environmental goals and the link between growth and development through public policies key to achieving sustainable development, namely climate, energy, industrial policy and circular economy, construction, environmental protection and biodiversity, mobility, agriculture, research, development and innovation.

The chapter Specificities of the Management of EU-funded Infrastructure Projects in the Republic of Croatia by Mladen Vukomanović, Anita Cerić and Snježana Krznarić describes approaches and models for managing infrastructure projects, and the chapter Social Cohesion, Urban Development and Social Innovation by Gojko Bežovan analyses eight thematic areas through an interdisciplinary approach: social cohesion, urban development, social entrepreneurship and social economy, social inclusion and the fight against poverty, employment programmes, the role of civil society, social innovation and good governance.

In the chapter on Cultural and Creative Industries, Daniela Angelina Jelinčić elaborates on the topic through the role of cultural/creative industries in regional development. The approach to developing the topic is project-based in order to provide the reader with managerial knowledge, but also highly specialized knowledge related to the field of culture, precisely in order to avoid the most common mistakes, or to achieve properly managed development effects.

The book is intended for employees in public administration, education workers, students, consultants, entrepreneurs, NGO members and individuals with a vision to translate ideas into concrete projects and ensure their implementation, and represents a significant educational material emerged from the highly successful University interdisciplinary specialist study “Preparation and Implementation of EU Projects”. The study has been conducted at the University of Zagreb for nine generations, and is conducted by the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Civil Engineering, the Faculty of Agronomy and the Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO) in Zagreb.

The book is available at: https://shop.skolskaknjiga.hr/priprema-i-provedba-projekata-europske-unije/

Information about enrollment in the 10th generation of the study programme (Croatian): https://irmo.hr/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Natjecaj-SS-Priprema-i-provedba-EU-projekata-X-generacija-2025-2026-f.pdf

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Objava EU is Bracing for a Heated Debate on Its New Budget pojavila se prvi puta na Euroimpakt.

Objava IRMO aktualno”The future of the EU budget after 2027″ pojavila se prvi puta na Euroimpakt.

Publisher: Routledge, London

Year: 2024

ISBN 9781032494807 (hbk)

DOI: 10.4324/9781003394013

ABSTRACT

The year 2023 marked the tenth anniversary of Croatia’s membership of the European Union, the last acceding country to the EU, and thus represents a fitting opportunity to explore the economic, political and social dimensions of this tremendous transformation. This book examines how Croatia has changed over the last ten years and looks at the driving forces as well as the obstacles on its post-accession path of Europeanisation.

The book argues that the Croatian case has special importance given that the last decade of European integration has arguably been the most challenging one yet. It started with the Eurozone-wide sovereign debt crisis and ended with the economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s aggression on Ukraine. Such demanding circumstances where agenda was often defined in an ad hoc way posed a huge test for Croatia’s governmental capacity. The book provides answers to the question of how successful Croatian policymakers were in dealing with the crises-related challenges and other needed adaptations. It explores how EU membership has affected the design and implementation of selected national public policies, the functioning of governing institutions and patterns of cooperation between main social actors. Expert contributors analyse the impact of the EU membership in two principal areas: political and economic, with individual chapters addressing relevant topics.

The book is intended for researchers, academics and students of Europeanisation, as well as policymakers, entrepreneurs and lobbyists concerned with European integration issues.

The book ‘Crisis Era European Integration: Economic, Political and Social Lessons from Croatia’ could be purchased at the following address.

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Editorial Board: Ana-Maria Boromisa, Sanja Maleković, Jakša Puljiz, Sanja Tišma, Aleksandra Uzelac

Publisher: IRMO – Institute for Development and International Relations

Year: 2024

Objava IRMO aktualno “European elections 2024 – exit trends” pojavila se prvi puta na Euroimpakt.

Editors of IRMO aktualno: Ana-Marija Boromisa, Sanja Maleković, Jakša Puljiz, Sanja Tišma, Aleksandra Uzelac

Publisher: IRMO – Institute for Development and International Relations

Year: 2024

ISSN 2757-0614

In the new issue of IRMO, authors Jakša Puljiz and Ivana Biondić deal with the future of Cohesion policy after 2027. The environment in which Cohesion policy operates has changed significantly in recent years, which will undoubtedly affect its design after 2027. The new priorities of the European Union, especially in the area of security and defence mean increased financial needs for their financing, which can reduce the budget space for Cohesion policy. In addition to budgetary issues, it is also important to consider substantive changes that await Cohesion policy in view of current development trends and challenges that European regions are facing. Cooperation with other EU and national policies will be essential to maximize the effects of Cohesion policy. It will be particularly important for Croatia, based on past experience in the use of Cohesion policy funds, but also in the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, to strengthen the overall national framework for investments and the implementation of structural reforms, taking particular account of the needs of less developed areas.

Link:

https://irmo.hr/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IRMO-aktualno-40.pdf (in Croatian)

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Author: Hrvoje Butković

Journal: Frontiers in Political Science (FPOS)

Section: Political Participation

Volume: 6: 1-12.

Year: April 2024

Publishers: Frontiers Media SA, Avenue du Tribunal-Federal 34, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland

Electronic ISSN: 2673-3145

DOI: 10.3389/fpos.2024.1375224

The article examines the evolution of representative democracy in Croatia since its independence until today. The analysis is founded on historic institutionalism, which strikes a balance between the rational choice approach and sociological institutionalism. The article explores the processes of long-term institutional change and primarily evaluates transformations of the electoral system. However, it also looks beyond to the role of direct democracy, with its corrective impacts on the main political actors.

Frontiers in Political Science (FPOS) is a multidisciplinary journal that focuses on the theory and practice political systems at various levels, including local, state, national, and international. The article was published in the section “Political Participation” which explores the causes and consequences of different forms of political engagement. The FPOS is indexed in: Scopus, Google Scholar, DOAJ, CrossRef, Semantic Scholar, CLOCKSS, OpenAIRE, ANVUR, Web of Science Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI).

Links:

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/political-science

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2024.1375224/full

Objava Scientific Article “Rethinking representative democracy in Croatia” pojavila se prvi puta na Euroimpakt.