Corruption in Croatia: Perceptions Rise, Problems Remain

This paper examines perceptions of corruption in Croatia, its negative impacts to the development and anti-corruption measures in the context of the future accession of Croatia to the European Union. The main hypothesis of this paper is that there are high perceptions of corruption in Croatia, which is an obstacle to socio-economic development. Seizing corruption is a necessary criterion for the Croatian membership in the European Union, and the lack of effective implementation of anti-corruption policy measures makes the existing anti-corruption policy still inefficient. The corruption prevalence in Croatia is analysed from three different viewpoints. The first one examines international ranking of Croatia as a relatively highly corrupt country. This is followed by the analysis of recent survey results investigating the corruption perceptions of citizens. The third aspect considers the corruption perceptions of entrepreneurs in Croatia. Related findings point out the sectors and forms of highest corruption prevalence and the significance of corruption as an obstacle to the development of entrepreneurship. The comparison of the adopted anti-corruption measures with the EU recommendations indicates that their implementation requires more intense and continuous efforts, with political commitment being the essential factor of success. The anti-corruption policy recommendations emphasise the importance of seizing corruption for the general benefit of Croatia, and not only in the context of the future membership in the European Union