VZCZCXRO2772
RR RUEHAG RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVB #0384/01 0811420
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221420Z MAR 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5905
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000384 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE, INL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM HR
SUBJECT: NEW CROATIAN ANTI-CORRUPTION STRATEGY LATEST 
SALVO IN "PERMANENT WAR" 
 
REF:  A) 05 ZAGREB 1580 B) 05 ZAGREB 1756 
 
ZAGREB 00000384  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
SUMMARY and COMMENT 
------------------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) On March 16 the GoC approved and sent to the 
Sabor for ratification a new Strategy for the Battle 
Against Corruption.  In presenting the Strategy to the 
public the previous week, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader 
emphasized that the battle against corruption is a 
permanent war that the Government of Croatia is ready 
to wage.  The Strategy aims to overhaul and clean up 
the political party financing and public 
administration, judicial system, health system, local 
government and the economy. 
 
¶2. (SBU) While the political will to battle corruption 
is strong and well publicized, it remains to be seen if 
this Strategy will suffer from the same weak and 
inconsistent implementation of the 2002 version.  PM 
Sanader and former PM and SDP party leader Ivica Racan 
have been sparring bitterly in the press in recent 
weeks over the issue of corruption - i.e. which party 
is/was more corrupt when in power and which has done 
more to combat corruption.  This public attention to 
the issue of corruption increases the likelihood that 
the Sabor will approve the Strategy quickly.  However, 
the key test will be in the follow up and 
implementation.  Septel will address the capabilities 
and challenges facing the judicial system in combating 
corruption and organized crime.   END SUMMARY and 
COMMENT. 
 
GOVERNMENT SERIOUS ABOUT COMBATING CORRUPTION 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) The new Strategy for Battling Corruption was 
drafted with input from the Council of Europe's Program 
Against Organized Crime and Corruption (PACO) to 
address shortcomings of the original 2002 Strategy.  In 
his public comments introducing the Strategy at the 
Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences March 10, Sanader 
expressed his strong political will and moral 
obligation to battle corruption, making it clear that 
the fight against corruption is for the ultimate 
betterment of life for the citizens of Croatia. 
Sanader claimed that this was the first time a Croatian 
government had invited public comment before approving 
a document of this importance. Sanader emphasized that 
the battle against corruption is a permanent war that 
the Government is ready to wage.  He further emphasized 
that 1) citizens of Croatia must live in a system in 
which they do not feel helpless before the government, 
and 2) the Strategy is not another condition for entry 
into the EU, rather a step ahead for Croatia and Rule 
of Law.  Sanader emphasized that his government is 
responsible for this fight, its ideas have been 
implemented and it will succeed in this battle. 
 
STRONG GOALS 
------------ 
 
¶4. (U) The Strategy sets ambitious deadlines and gives 
direct responsibility to specific ministries and 
government institutions to implement them.  Major goals 
include: 1) implement stronger penalties against those 
who commit acts of corruption, 2) strengthen 
professional ethics of state and local administrations 
and small and medium enterprises, 3) secure a public 
administration that is responsible to the people and 4) 
reinstate the trust of the citizens, so that the people 
of the country receive proper and complete service. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Strategy was drafted by a working group 
led by Josip Kregar, Dean of the Law Faculty at Zagreb 
University.  PACO experts reviewed the November 2005 
draft at the GoC's request.  The PACO team generally 
praised the Strategy for being more action-oriented 
than the 2002 Strategy, but cautioned that 
implementation mechanisms were sketchy.  Kregar told 
PolOff that some sections were watered down after the 
November review.  However, the final version presented 
by PM Sanader was substantially identical to the 
original, with the most notable addition being 
reference to Sanader's business promotion one-stop-shop 
licensing initiatave, HITRO.hr (ref A).  The other 
significant substantive changes were removal of 
proposed stricter limits on government latitude to 
sidestep public procurement rules.  The version 
 
ZAGREB 00000384  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
approved by the Cabinet and passed to the Sabor 
(parliament) for approval added an additional section 
on improving ethics in academia, scientific research, 
and sports. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Kregar did not take these changes lightly.  In 
the public presentation of the Strategy March 10, 
Kregar specifically questioned the deletion of a 
provision calling for removing government officials 
from the management boards of state-owned enterprises. 
In his widely publicized parry, PM Sanader retorted 
that until such enterprises were privatized, government 
representatives were necessary on management boards to 
protect the State's economic interests. 
 
FRANK