Original scientific paper

Exploring the Effects of Europeanization on the Openness of Public Administration in Croatia

Igor Vidačak ; ravnatelj Ureda za udruge Vlade Republike Hrvatske
Marina Škrabalo ; Research Centre of GONG

Abstract

The paper seeks to investigate the effects of the EU accession process on the openness of public administration in Croatia. Considering openness as a broader concept encompassing various components of transparency and participation, two basic questions are addressed – to what extent the EU accession negotiations process has contributed to greater transparency of the Croatian public administration, and whether it has enabled more active participation of citizens and interest groups in public policy making processes. The EU accession negotiations do not have a strong transformative impact on transparency of public administration, unless they manage to create incentives for the key change agents and norm entrepreneurs, either within organized civil society or within government. Despite an ever-growing number of EU-driven opportunity structures, the involvement of citizens and interest groups in the essential agenda-setting phase
of the policy making process remained rather limited during Croatia’s EU membership negotiations, which were driven by a sense of urgency and even fear that the disclosure of negotiation documents, public consultations on acquis-related legislation, and extensive public debates might stifle the process. Nevertheless, the distinct features of Croatia’s EU accession process and the new EU’s demand for solid proof of the actual implementation of the formally adopted EU
acquis enabled advocacy and watchdog CSOs to play a more substantial role in policy monitoring and to have a greater say in domestic policy processes. In general, building a more meaningful dialogue with citizens, CSOs, and the interested public is considered as a key prerequisite for ensuring durability of reforms undertaken during the EU accession process. In addition, clearer guidelines,
benchmarks and evaluation schemes in the field of open and inclusive
policy making need to be set out by the EU in order to better structure and track progress of domestic adaptation processes in candidate countries, but also to ensure long-term effectiveness of pre-accession reforms in this area.

Keywords

Europeanization; public administration; openness; transparency; civil society; EU accession

Hrčak ID:

129751

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/129751

Publication date:

4.3.2014.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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