Speaking at a government session dedicated to Croatia's EU entry talks and their impact on the national economic development, Minister Grabar Kitarovic pointed to the high level of use of PHARE, ISPA, SAPARD and CARDS funds, adding that it was very important to keep such results also with the IPA programme.
The IPA programme is very important for Croatia's future EU-accession related activities because in the EU's next financial outlook for the period 2007-2013 it will replace the existing pre-accession programmes PHARE, ISPA, SAPARD and CARDS.
Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, who attended the session, said that the pre-accession funds, about which the public new little, accounted for three percent of the growth of every country's GDP. In the next 14 years, the EU will invest into Croatia non-repayable funds amounting to 2,000 euros per capita.
"We can be satisfied with the course, content and dynamics of the talks, but the real job of defining negotiating positions is yet to be done," Drobnjak said.
He recalled that Croatia, which started accession talks with the EU on October 3, had completed seven explanatory and six bilateral screenings and that it intended to complete another 20 explanatory and 19 bilateral screenings by June next year, which he said was half the job regarding the screening process.
During Austria's EU presidency we expect the opening of negotiations on eight chapters and the temporary closure of two chapters - on science and research and education and culture, Drobnjak said.