I have urged Croatia to continue its work in order to achieve concrete results in judicial reform and in combating corruption. We have registered progress in the area of the judiciary, figures show that the backlog of cases has been reduced by 30 per cent, Rehn told reporters after meeting Croatian Justice Minister Ana Lovrin in Brussels.
Rehn said that Croatia was still facing a lot of challenges and that Croatian citizens deserved an efficient and independent judiciary.
It is important to recall that court proceedings in Croatia take too long, and that delayed justice is denied justice, the EU commissioner said.
On the subject of corruption, Rehn said that a resolute fight against this problem creates a safer investment environment.
The first step to be taken is full implementation of the government's anti-corruption programme. Croatia needs to develop a culture of zero tolerance and Croatian citizens must see corruption punished when it arises, Rehn said.
Lovrin said she had informed Rehn about the results of the ongoing reform, the reduction of the backlog of court cases, and plans to streamline the network of courts and create a legal framework for reducing the duration of court proceedings.
Rehn said that a screening report on the "Judiciary and Fundamental Rights" chapter should be finished in April and presented to the EU Council for discussion in May.
Asked to comment on Slovenia's complaints that Croatia was not implementing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) regarding the access of its citizens to the Croatian real estate market, Rehn said he was acquainted with the problem and that he expected Croatia to implement the provisions of the SAA.
Lovrin recalled that foreign nationals may purchase real estate in Croatia on a reciprocity basis. She said that the Croatian Foreign Ministry had established that in the case of Slovenia the principle of reciprocity was observed and that the Justice Ministry was dealing with each case individually, on a case by case basis.