After the first day of the first stage of screening in Brussels, Croatia's chief negotiator for this chapter, Sinisa Petrovic, said Croatia would have to ensure equal conditions for its citizens and citizens of the European Union starting a business, in compliance with legislation regulating the right to establishment and the freedom to provide services.
The EU acquis communautaire, which Croatia is expected to integrate in its legislation, stipulates the provision of equal conditions for all EU citizens starting an economic activity.
"The first task of the Croatian negotiating team is to detect which laws and regulations mention and define services," Petrovic said, adding that according to some estimates there were over 150 such documents.
Croatia has a very liberal regime regulating the right to establish a company which makes no difference between EU citizens and Croatians in this area.
According to Petrovic, before joining the EU the country is expected to liberalise the services market and the right to establishment in all possible occupations, such as hairdressers, plumbers and carpenters, and ensure equal conditions for everybody.
The Croatian task force is led by Tatjana Josipovic.
The first round of the screening ends on Tuesday.