Croatia Country Profile

Private Anti-Corruption Initiatives

  • Media: The climate for public debate has improved in Croatia in recent years, as the media have become more critical and report on sensitive topics such as the Croatian Army's war crimes during the war in the 1990s. Approximately 140 radio stations and 15 television channels operate in Croatia, and two-thirds of the national television stations are privately owned. According to Freedom House 2009, the press has increasingly been used as a tool by media owners to promote their business and political interests. However, journalists are sometimes subject to political pressures and violence, threats or jail sentences. According to news reports in 2008, several gang-related killings and attacks of reporters working on stories related to organised crime took place. Moreover, intimidation of journalists working on corruption issues has gained prominence, according to Freedom House 2009. For instance, in June 2008, a journalist was beaten near his home in Zagreb, and in July, his family received threats warning him to stop his investigative reporting on organised crime and corruption. Government officials occasionally use libel laws against the media, although penalties for libel have been reduced to fines, seizure of assets, or community service. In particular, the issue of war crimes remains a highly sensitive topic, and journalist face pressure and intimidation if their reporting is seen to denigrate Croatia's role in the 1991-1995 Balkan conflict. According to Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Journal, a journalist named Ivo Pukanić, who was known for his investigations on corruption and high profile crimes in Croatia, was killed in a car bomb in October 2008. According to the same source, his murder was related to his intention to publish stories related to Balkan criminal groups. Croatia is ranked 78th out of 175 countries by Reporters Without Borders 2010, while Freedom House 2009 ranks Croatia 81st out of 195 countries and describes the country's media environment as 'partly free'. In general, Croatia has come a long way in ensuring independent media.

  • Civil Society: Civil society's influence on policy process in Croatia is growing, albeit slowly, as emphasised by Freedom House 2009. A small group of organisations are involved regularly in consultations and high-profile monitoring of government actions and policy implementation. A large number NGOs and CSOs in Croatia conduct programmes targeting a wide range of social issues. Generally, the state has a rather negative or indifferent attitude towards CSOs, as they are considered to be part of the political opposition or simply undesired competition. At the same time, companies show few signs of social responsibility, further restricting the scope for cooperation between private actors and CSOs. One rare example of an NGO engaged in awareness-raising and training of companies and public institutions in environmental management, business ethics and corporate social responsibility is the Croatia Cleaner Production Centre, which cooperates with UNIDO on these issues. The NGOs engaged in anti-corruption questions seldom provide the business perspective to solving the problem.

  • Transparency International (TI) Croatia: TI Croatia carries out projects on issues such as freedom of information, political corruption and corruption in the judiciary. Furthermore, TI Croatia runs an Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre (ALAC) to address inquiries about corruption and offer advice on how to report corruption to government bodies. The ALAC also has a telephone hotline for people to report on suspected instances of corruption. The German government sponsors the ALAC project through the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe. In 2007, TI Croatia hosted a public forum at which corruption risks in a major procurement of armoured vehicles were discussed by interested parties, including senior defence officials, defence companies and representatives from the civil society. According to Transparency International's Global Corruption Report 2009, this event was seen as a success, leading to further interest within the Ministry of Defence and a follow-up workshop on best practices.

  • Croatian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CBCSD): The CBCSD promotes sustainable development in the private sector and represents business in sustainable development. It was founded in 1997 by leading Croatian companies. Member-founders have dedicated their expertise, experience, capability and responsibility into a shared commitment to sustainable development aiming to balance the country's economic growth, social welfare and environmental safety. The CBCSD conducts workshops and produces case studies on sustainable business practices, and has produced a report on corporate responsibility.

  • Partnership for Social Development (PSD): The PSD is engaged in anti-corruption questions and conflict of interest issues. They function as a watchdog for the government and offer their opinion and advice on the legislative work related to these interest areas. They only rarely provide a business approach to solving corruption and conflict of interest problems.

  • GONG: GONG is a non-partisan citizen's organisation that was founded in 1997. It engages in various activities such as encouraging citizens to actively participate in political processes, monitor election processes, educate citizens about their rights and duties, and promote transparency within public services. GONG also conducts projects such as the 'good governance' project and publishes different brochures and newsletters.

  • Resource Center of Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative for SEE (RAI-SEE): The RAI-SEE (formerly Stability Pact Anti-Corruption Initiative) was adopted in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in February 2000 and aims at coordinating international and national anti-corruption efforts in Croatia and several other regional member countries. The RAI-SEE promotes the adoption of international legal instruments, good governance, strengthening the rule of law, transparency and integrity in business operations and the development of an active civil society in order to fight corruption.