The event gathered Croatian experts and experts from other European countries, including representatives of the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK), the Ministry of Justice, the Office for Public Procurement, and local judicial institutions.
Addressing the meeting, a State Secretary at the Justice Ministry, Snjezana Bagic, said that after the adoption of an anti-corruption program and an action plan, the prosecution of corruption-related crimes in Croatia was becoming more and more efficient.
"Over the last 12 months, the number of convictions for this kind of criminal activity has increased by as much as 120 percent," Bagic said, pointing to the latest success in the fight against corruption - the operation dubbed "Maestro".
"The fight against corruption is a top priority for the government," Bagic said, adding that results would not have been possible without improved communication with citizens and NGOs and a growing awareness that corruption is unacceptable.
Surveys show that citizens mostly complain about corruption in the judiciary, the health system, and in local administration and self-government units.
Bagic said the government was amending laws to create a legal framework for the fight against corruption, that it had taken measures to reorganise the judiciary and make it more transparent, and to strengthen state institutions in terms of personnel and funding.
Croatia is participating in regional anti-corruption programs, as well as in other international projects, from the European Union to NATO, Bagic concluded.
The seminar will be addressed by experts from other European countries and it will include a presentation of the Croatian national anti-corruption program with measures taken so far.
This is the fourth anti-corruption policy seminar to be organised by the Justice Ministry and the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange (TAIEX), an instrument of the Directorate-General Enlargement of the European Commission.