Per Aspera" by Daniela Petričević Golojuh, M.A
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia on the occasion of the Croatian Chairmanship of the Council of Europe is publishing a special edition of the book "Croatia and the Council of Europe: Per Aspera" by Daniela Petričević Golojuh, M.A. Zagreb 2018 02 Foreword by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Marija Pejčinović Burić, the Republic of Croatia M.A. Dear readers and friends, Croatia’s priorities are: 1. Fight against corruption; 2. Ecient protection of rights of national minorities and vulnerable groups; 3. Decentralization in the it is my pleasure to welcome you on the pages of the context of strengthening local government and publication of the Ministry of Foreign and European self-government, including the issue of absorption Aairs of Croatia entitled Croatia and the Council of capacities of regions and 4. Protection of cultural Europe: Per Aspera by Daniela Petričević Golojuh. heritage and cultural routes. The book, published in 2015, gives an overview of the It is our conviction that the ght against corruption development of the Council of Europe and of Croatia’s represents a fundamental prerequisite to the path to its membership and of its activities surrounding development of open and democratic societies. In this pivotal and fundamental European organization, that vein, Croatia, in cooperation with the Group of established in 1949. States against Corruption (GRECO), will endeavour to encourage better cooperation and synergy On 18 May 2018, Croatia assumed the Chairmanship among relevant national anti-corruption bodies. of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Also, after two decades of the Council of Europe Europe. Our Chairmanship symbolically closes the activities in the ght against corruption, this is an circle from the beginning of our membership in 1996, opportunity for reection on the progress achieved as described in the publication, to our present-day and giving political guidelines for the future. active involvement in the work of the organization. It is, therefore, the right moment to reect on the Secondly, Croatia pays special attention to the Council of Europe and Croatia’s contribution to its protection of the rights of national minorities, based work. on the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Croatia considers its national minorities Croatia established 4 main priorities of its an invaluable and inseparable part of its society Chairmanship and an ambitious program of nearly and its diversity. In addition, our Chairmanship 30 events, including conferences, expert meetings seeks to promote the protection of human rights of and workshops. Most of the events are taking place other vulnerable groups. In that sense, various in Croatia, and include the cities of Zagreb, Rijeka, events will be organized on issues such as gender Dubrovnik, Zadar, as well as the Brijuni islands and equality in sport, human rights of older persons, the island of Lošinj. the rights of the child in the digital age and others. I Foreword 03 Thirdly, we will encourage sharing experience and knowledge on the reform of local and regional self-government in order to ensure high quality, prompt and accessible public services for both citizens and the economy. Local units represent holders of the democratic, economic and social growth of their respective communities. In that regard, it is also important to strengthen their overall capacities, including those for the absorption of nancial resources allocated from EU funds. Lastly, our Chairmanship is also focused on the protection of cultural heritage and cultural routes. Cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, is a common treasure of the humanity. Croatia has 10 sites listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List and our cultural heritage is important part of our national identity. Croatia will undertake a number of activities that will emphasize the importance of cultural heritage for the society and for preserving our common European heritage. Also, in order to further promote cultural routes we are organizing events highlighting the importance of olive trees and olive oil for the culture and civilisation of the Mediterranean region, to which Croatia belongs. Finally, we are dedicated to further promoting the work of the Council of Europe and strengthening the organization from within as well as to its cooperating with other international organizations. In this regard, Croatia will be vocal in defending our shared values and commitments and striving to contribute to strengthening peace and security in Europe, thus providing its citizens the full enjoyment of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Sincerely yours, Marija Pejčinović Burić 04 Priorities of the Chairmanship consultations at the national level, established the following four topics as the priorities of its Chairmanship: 1. Fight against corruption; of the Republic Of Croatia 2. Ecient protection of rights of national minorities and vulnerable groups; 3. Decentralisation in the context of strengthening local government and of the Committee of Ministers self-government, including the issue of absorption capacities of regions; and of the Council of Europe 4. Protection of cultural heritage and cultural routes. 1. Fight against corruption (18 May – 21 November 2018) The Council of Europe, besides the three key pillars (protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of The Council of Europe, an international organisation law), which represent the fundamental values of this organisation, also deals with a number of specic and a pivotal European institution founded after the social topics, among which ght against corruption stands out as a priority. Corruption is a socially Second World War, is a general point of reference of unacceptable phenomenon, which directly jeopardises human rights, destroys morals and endangers the the highest democratic standards in the area of stability and economic advancement of the state. In addition to being contrary to the relevant legislation, respect for human rights, democracy and the rule it is also a deviation from the fundamental principles of society. Therefore, the ght against corruption is a of law. fundamental prerequisite to the development of an open and democratic society, which is strongly supported by Croatia. Croatia became a full member of the Council of Europe on 6 November 1996. Croatia continuously and strategically considers, implements and upgrades its system of anti-corruption measures, starting from the 2002 National Anti-corruption Programme and its Action Plan, the 2006-2008 With its membership, Croatia conrmed its genuine National Anti-corruption Programme, the 2008 Anti-corruption Strategy, to the current, structurally and commitment to all valid democratic values of the Council of Europe, recognising the importance of methodologically proactively oriented 2015-2020 Anti-corruption Strategy. The current Strategy is promoting awareness of the common European focused on preventing corruption through the detection of the corruption risks and the removal of the cultural identity through the highest standards of remaining legislative and institutional shortcomings. The Strategy also promotes integrity and protection of human rights. transparency in the work of state bodies and institutions, placing emphasis on the responsibility of persons holding public functions. Croatia, as an active member state, takes part in all common endeavours aimed at nding solutions to Croatia has already achieved signicant progress in numerous elds, such as the right of access to numerous issues faced by contemporary Europe – information, nancing electoral campaigns and political parties, transparency of the work of the executive from nding ways to advance the protection of branch of government and setting up the system for the prevention of conicts of interests. In spite of the minorities and youth rights, to ghting organised progress achieved in these elds, it is necessary to build awareness of the need to continuously monitor crime and tracking in human beings. We are the eciency of specic solutions, since this is a prerequisite to further advancement. aware that only a democratic Europe based on mutual cooperation and open dialogue can be Croatia, in cooperation with the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), an expert body of the Council stable, safe and prosperous. of Europe for ght against corruption, will organise a ministerial conference ''Strengthening Transparency and Responsibility Aimed at Prevention of Corruption'' to be held on 15 and 16 October 2018. The Croatia, for the rst time since it became a member Conference will emphasise and promote complementarity between the traditional national of the Council of Europe, will assume the anti-corruption mechanisms and anti-corruption mechanisms of the modern media. Free and Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the independent media, regardless of their form, are of the vitale importance for transparency and Council of Europe. During its Chairmanship, Croatia will seek to further promote and strengthen responsibility as a means to ensure integrity, and to prevent and monitor corruption. democratic values, human rights and the rule of Thus, the Conference will discuss the key function of the media in promoting transparency and law building on the results of preceding responsibility, as well as the need for the media to protect themselves against corruption. The Conference chairmanships. will endeavour to encourage