VZCZCXRO0944
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVB #0468 1751137
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 231137Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8421
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 0006
RUEHLJ/AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA 6415
RUEHPOD/AMEMBASSY PODGORICA
RUEHPS/AMEMBASSY PRISTINA 0593
RUEHVJ/AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO 0286
RUEHTI/AMEMBASSY TIRANA 0832

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000468 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR PRM, EUR/SCE AND EUR/RPM, BELGRADE FOR REFCOORD 
JIKICH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: HR CROATIA PGOV PREF PREL EUC REFUGEES
SUBJECT: GOC COMMITTED TO PROVIDING HOUSING TO RETURNEES, 
BUT UNLIKELY TO HIT ITS TARGET DATE OF THE END OF 2009 
 
REF: A. ZAGREB 00411 
     ¶B. ZAGREB 00357 
 
 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Deputy Prime Minister Slobodan Uzelac 
continues his active engagement (REFS) to address outstanding 
refugee return issues in Croatia. During a June 16th, 2008 
meeting between senior representatives of the European 
Commission, UNHCR, U.S. Embassy, and the Zagreb based office 
of the OSCE, the DPM further outlined the GoC "action plan" 
for the accelerated implementation of the housing care 
program. In addition to the GoC's (overly) ambitious plan to 
solve the cases of approximately 5600 former occupancy 
tenancy right holders by the end of 2009, discussions during 
the bi-monthly meeting with the international community also 
focused on the quality of housing provided to returnees, a 
new appellate procedure for housing care applications, and 
unresolved property matters. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) Uzelac openly acknowledged that, as of early June 
2008, the GoC had only actually delivered just under 85 
percent of the 1400 returnee apartments it had set as its 
target for 2007.  The remaining 217 units had been acquired, 
but were not yet ready for occupancy.  Uzelac assured the 
representatives of the international community that the 
majority of these 217 units would be ready by the end of 
September.  Uzelac added that the GoC's draft "Action Plan on 
Returns" is currently under discussion with the EU as a 
required benchmark for opening a chapter in Croatia's 
accession negotiations.  Uzelac said the GoC is scheduled to 
provide solutions by the end of 2009 to the estimated 5600 
additional households of former occupancy tenancy rights 
holders who have applied for housing.  Given the generally 
inconsistent quality of housing provided to returnees, the 
GoC committed itself to begin repairs on units that are in 
poorer condition. 
 
¶3. (U) Uzelac noted that the GoC has recently implemented a 
new  appellate procedure.  Staff from the central Ministry 
for Reconstruction and UNHCR's Zagreb office are now jointly 
reviewing applications originally rejected by the GoC's local 
offices.  A number of these rejections are likely to be 
overturned by the end of October.  Those cases in which the 
joint review committee upheld the initial rejection will 
still have recourse to a further appeals process.  GoC 
officials noted that cases approved during this appellate 
procedure by September will be added to the 2009 plan and 
budget accordingly.  Meeting participants praised the GoC's 
willingness to undertake this review as a sign of political 
will to address any injustices caused by unfairly restrictive 
decisions at the local level. 
 
¶4. (U) Uzelac also assured the representatives of the 
international community that of an estimated 8,600 pending 
requests for housing reconstruction, funds have already been 
ear-marked in the government budget for all positive 
decisions that will be issued in the months ahead.  Uzelac, 
who recently traveled to Vojvodina to meet with refugees in 
Serbia who have applied for return to Croatia, further stated 
his belief that a bilateral approach to negotiations with 
Serbia is a logical way to proceed in further promoting 
return to Croatia. 
 
¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: While the "Action Plan" is encouraging and 
clearly demonstrates the GoC's willingness to "do the right 
thing," the timetables the GoC has outlined for resolving 
these cases strike us as overly ambitious.  Based on the 
GoC's performance over the past eighteen months, we believe 
that the GoC does genuinely intend to provide housing to all 
approved applicants for return.  But it is very unlikely that 
Uzelac and the GoC can actually deliver all of the 
approximately 5600 units required by the end of 2009.  END 
COMMENT 
Bradtke