“Challenges of the European Semester for the New EU member states and Croatia – how to proceed?”- the first round table within the Jean Monnet project “POLO-Cro28 – Policy Observatory in Croatia“ held in Zagreb

“CHALLENGES OF THE EUROPEAN SEMESTER FOR THE NEW EU MEMBER STATES AND CROATIA – HOW TO PROCEED?”-  THE FIRST ROUND TABLE  WITHIN THE JEAN MONNET PROJECT “POLO-CRO28 – POLICY OBSERVATORY IN CROATIA“ HELD IN ZAGREB

Zagreb: European Commission Representation in the Republic of Croatia, August Cesarec street no. 4

Wednesday 25th November 2015, 10.00 – 13.30

A round table “Challenges of the European Semester for the New EU member states and Croatia – how to proceed?” was held on Wednesday 25th November 2015 in the House of Europe in Zagreb in cooperation with the European Commission Representation in the Republic of Croatia. The round table is the first public event within the Jean Monnet project ‘POLO-Cro28 – Policy Observatory in Croatia’ financed by the Erasmus+ program and implemented by Institute for Development and International Relations – IRMO. The event was officially opened by H.E. Mr Branko Baričević, Head of the European Commission Representation in the Republic of Croatia and Mrs Sanja Tišma, Director of the Institute for Development and International Relations – IRMO. The coordinator of the project and moderator of the event, Mrs Višnja Samardžija from IRMO has presented the POLO-Cro28 project. The event proceeded with the first panel, discussing challenges and effectiveness of the European Semester as the surveillance and coordination instrument of the EU member states’ economic policies as well as the implementation of reforms within the European Semester in Croatia. The panel discussed the framework of the European Semester, focusing on the main instruments and the timeframe of this process. The special emphasis was put on the significance and the content of the Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs), providing a critical review on their implementation. The distinguished speakers of the first panel were: Mrs Manica Hauptman, the European Commission Representation in the Republic of Croatia; Mr Jakša Puljiz, the Deputy Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds; Mrs Sanja Madžarević Šujster, World Bank in Croatia and Mr Damir Novotny, T&MC Tax & Accounting. The second panel discussed the social impacts of the implementation of the European Semester in the new EU member states, namely Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia. In particular, the experiences of the new EU member states were discussed and recommendations for Croatia were provided. Furthermore, panel discussed the method of (social) impact assessment of laws and reforms implemented in Croatia within the European Semester as well as the involvement of the social partners and representatives from the civil society in the processes related to the European Semester matters in Croatia. The distinguished speakers of the second panel were: H.E. Mr Juraj Priputen, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to the Republic of Croatia;  H.E. Mr Martin Košatka, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Republic of Croatia; Mr Krešimir Jurlin, IRMO; Mrs Marina Škrabalo, GONG; Mr Krešimir Sever, Independent Trade Unions of Croatia and Mr Bernard Jakelić, Croatian Emloyers’ Association. The panels were concluded with a vibrant Q&A sessions between the speakers and the audience.