‘Pre-accession assistance as a mechanism of
Europeanisation: the effects of CARDS/IPA on
administrative capacity in Croatia’
Eleftherios Antonopoulos
PhD student, UACES scholar, European
Policies Research Centre, University of
Strathclyde
Source: European Communities, Regional Cooperation in the Western Balkans, 2005
Europeanisation
• What is Europeanisation?
– The domestic impact of Europe
– A two way (top-down, bottom-up) process (Börzel 2002).
Other definitions (Risse 2001; Radaelli 2003; Bache 2008).
• Does Europeanisation theory apply in the following
cases:
– Public Administration (Olsen 2003; Trondal 2007; Knill
2004; Goetz 2001; Esmark 2008)
– Enlargement, CEECs Western Balkans and Croatia
(Schimmelfenig, Sedelmeier, Dimitrova)
– Pre-accession financial assistance (Grabbe 2003; Hughes,
Sasse and Gordon 2005)
Europeanisation and domestic change
Source: Caporaso (in Vink and Graziano 2008:28)
Europeanisation’s influence on
administrative capacity
• Administrative capacity (Dimitrova 2002)
– Absorption capacity (Molle 2007: 196; Hughes, Sasse,
Gordon 2005:23)
– Administrative absorption capacity (ibid.)
• Sectoral, horizontal, capacity to implement the acquis.
• Disaggregation for measurement
– Structures
– Human and financial resources
– Systems and tools (based on NEI/ECORYS 2002)
Research design
• Qualitative desk research and fieldwork with use of
available quantitative data for triangulation.
• Case study: Croatia (time and budget constraints, first in
the queue for membership)
• 30 Semi-structured interviews with policy-makers,
academics and consultants.
• Convenience sampling, snowball-chain referral sampling.
• Process tracing: post 2000 EU-WB and EU-Croatia relations,
strategy, policy, programme, project, documents,
regulations, laws, evaluation reports (EU & Croatian
documents) and interview transcripts.
• Budget: UACES fieldwork grant 2009
Assessing administrative capacity
building under CARDS/PHARE/IPA
Instrument
CARDS (2000-2004 in
Croatia)
PHARE (2005-2006)
IPA (2007-2013)
Cohesion Policy and
Structural Instruments
(future)
Goodness of fit/ institutional
misfit
Initially centralised and
focusing on postwar
reconstruction
Misfit on the eve of
decentralisation of assistance
to Croatia
Adaptational pressure
Similar management with later
phase of CARDS therefore
similar degree of fit/misfit
Institutional misfit
particularly in relation to
components II-IV
High in the case of the
CFCU/Ministry of Finance and
later CFCA.
High pressure in the case of
the line ministries,
coordination authority,
operational structures etc.
Very high but potential
pressure at the sectoral level
depends on the successful
implementation of IPA.
Institutional misfit. Better
chances of goodness of fit if
administrative capacity is
improved through the
influence of IPA.
Limited pressure related to
the project-based model.
High in the case of the
CFCU/Ministry of Finance.
Medium in general
CARDS allocations to Croatia
Sector[1]
2001
2002
2003
2004
TOTAL
JUSTICE & HOME AFFAIRS
14.1
10.0
12.0
26.85
57.95
ADMINISTRATIVE CAPACITY
BUILDING
2.5
12.0
11.8
15.1
41.4
ECONOMIC & SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
15.4
18.0
17.5
17.75
68.65
ENVIRONMENT, NATURAL
RESOURCES
3.8
3.0
3.7
3.8
14.3
DEMOCRATIC STABILISATION
24.2
16.0
17.0
17.5
74.7
TOTAL ALLOCATION
60
59.0
62.0
81
257.0
[1]
The table is available online at http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/how-does-it-work/financial-assistance/cards/statistics2000-2006_en.htm#1
CARDS allocations to Croatia
IPA allocations to Croatia
Component
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
49,6
45,3
45,6
39,4
39,9
40,8
9,6
14,7
15,8
16,2
16,5
16,8
Regional Development
45,0
47,6
49,7
56,8
58,2
59,3
Human Resources Development
11,3
12,7
14,2
15,7
16,0
16,0
Rural Development
25,5
25,6
25,8
26,0
26,5
27,2
141,2
146,0
151,2
154,2
157,2
160,4
Transition Assistance and Institution Building
Cross-border Co-operation
TOTAL
Source: DG Enlargement website http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/candidate-countries/croatia/financial-assistance/index_en.htm
CARDS Structures
Competent
The
National
Aid The state secretary in charge of CODEF.
bodies
Coordinator (for EU
assistance) (NAC)
The
National A state secretary in the Ministry of Finance heading
Authorising
Officer the National Fund (NF).
(NAO
Senior
Programme An official in a line ministry/agency in charge of
Officer (SPO)
technical implementation, Project Implementation
Units (PIU) are answerable to him.
Implementing
The Central Financing and Contracting Unit (CFCU) is
Agencies
headed by the Programme Authorising Officer (PAO).
Other within ministries.
Final
Bodies of central administration, regional and local
beneficiaries
self-government, public institutions, civil society.
European
European Commission central services
Commission
European Commission Delegation
IPA Structures
Source: European Funds for Croatian Projects. A handbook on Financial Cooperation and European Union Supported programmes in Croatia, CODEF, Zagreb 2009.
Summary & Conclusion
• Conceptual issues of Europeanisation and
administrative capacity.
• Research methodology and design.
• The cases of CARDS and IPA in Croatia
• Some early results based on the fieldwork,
show a differentiated, mixed picture of
Europeanisation in the fields of Pre-accession
assistance and preparation for Cohesion
Policy.