Post by MiG on Jan 16, 2010 0:34:04 GMT -5
Croatia’s challenge
Published: January 13 2010 20:18 | Last updated: January 13 2010 20:18
Croatia’s fight against corruption and organized crime has been given a useful boost by the election of a new president committed to the campaign.
Ivo Josipovic marked his victory in Sunday’s poll pledging to battle corruption and crime “without compromise”. It is a promise vital to Croatia, its plans to join the European Union, and the EU entry hopes of other, far more fragile states in the former Yugoslavia.
The clean-up has already made considerable progress after it was launched in late 2008 following the car bomb killing in central Zagreb of Ivo Pukanic, a magazine editor, and an associate. A slew of new police and justice appointments, tough new laws and a string of high-profile investigations has finally destroyed the myth that nothing much could be done about Balkan corruption. An ex-defence minister has been indicted in a bribery case; an ex-deputy prime minister is being investigated over alleged illegal share-buying.
But there is further to go. Croatia must bring investigations to court and punish the guilty. With key probes drilling deep into the ruling HDZ party, the government must ensure the pursuit of justice is not blocked by political interference. Jadranka Kosor, the prime minister who took office last year after the surprise resignation of her veteran predecessor, Ivo Sanader, seems determined to succeed. But the conservative HDZ’s old guard, with members happy to combine politics with profit, will not, even now, roll over.
While public anger over corruption gives Ms Kosor vital support, the real impetus comes from the EU. Brussels is rightly committed to ensure Zagreb deals with its demons before accession rather than afterwards. The examples of Bulgaria and Romania, which were given entry before their battles against crime and corruption were won, serve as a warning about rushing future accessions. If this means Croatia must wait beyond its planned 2012 entry date, so be it. History shows Brussels has real leverage over national capitals only before accession. Afterwards it is too late, and the consequences can last decades: Greece, an EU member since 1981, still has a corruption record as bad as other Balkan states, according to Transparency International, the watchdog.
But the union should match toughness with appropriate backing for pre-accession states well before their proposed entry dates. The time to increase support for anti-corruption drives in Serbia and other future members is now. These campaigns can take years.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.
Published: January 13 2010 20:18 | Last updated: January 13 2010 20:18
Croatia’s fight against corruption and organized crime has been given a useful boost by the election of a new president committed to the campaign.
Ivo Josipovic marked his victory in Sunday’s poll pledging to battle corruption and crime “without compromise”. It is a promise vital to Croatia, its plans to join the European Union, and the EU entry hopes of other, far more fragile states in the former Yugoslavia.
The clean-up has already made considerable progress after it was launched in late 2008 following the car bomb killing in central Zagreb of Ivo Pukanic, a magazine editor, and an associate. A slew of new police and justice appointments, tough new laws and a string of high-profile investigations has finally destroyed the myth that nothing much could be done about Balkan corruption. An ex-defence minister has been indicted in a bribery case; an ex-deputy prime minister is being investigated over alleged illegal share-buying.
But there is further to go. Croatia must bring investigations to court and punish the guilty. With key probes drilling deep into the ruling HDZ party, the government must ensure the pursuit of justice is not blocked by political interference. Jadranka Kosor, the prime minister who took office last year after the surprise resignation of her veteran predecessor, Ivo Sanader, seems determined to succeed. But the conservative HDZ’s old guard, with members happy to combine politics with profit, will not, even now, roll over.
While public anger over corruption gives Ms Kosor vital support, the real impetus comes from the EU. Brussels is rightly committed to ensure Zagreb deals with its demons before accession rather than afterwards. The examples of Bulgaria and Romania, which were given entry before their battles against crime and corruption were won, serve as a warning about rushing future accessions. If this means Croatia must wait beyond its planned 2012 entry date, so be it. History shows Brussels has real leverage over national capitals only before accession. Afterwards it is too late, and the consequences can last decades: Greece, an EU member since 1981, still has a corruption record as bad as other Balkan states, according to Transparency International, the watchdog.
But the union should match toughness with appropriate backing for pre-accession states well before their proposed entry dates. The time to increase support for anti-corruption drives in Serbia and other future members is now. These campaigns can take years.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.
Source: www.ft.com/cms/s/0/29d44864-0079-11df-b50b-00144feabdc0.html