EC recognizes Croatia's progress in the rule of law

The Ministry of Justice and Administration announced on Saturday that the European Commission (EC) has recognized Croatia's progress in its rule of law reports for three consecutive years. In its 2026 report Croatia received only four recommendations, as did Germany, Austria and Finland. Additional progress was also noted in all recommendations from last year's report.

The Ministry emphasized that significant progress has been noted in relation to the recommendation regarding the fight against corruption. The EC, it emphasizes, praised Croatia’s recent amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act, the State Attorney's Office Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act and especially the USKOK Anti-corruption and Organized Crime Agency Act, as well as institutional changes introduced with the aim of greater efficiency in processing white collar crimes. The increase in transparency and efficiency with recent amendments to the Public Procurement Act was also highlighted, the Justice and Administration Ministry added.

The EC report further notes that progress has also been recorded in the area of strengthening the efficiency of the judiciary, and positive emphasis has been placed on the reform of the system of entering into judicial office, further digitalization of misdemeanor proceedings by introducing e-Communication, harmonization with the Court of Justice of the European Union in terms of harmonizing case law and redefining the role of the so-called registrar judges, and on completing the election of the President of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia.

Furthermore, it also adds that additional progress has been recognized in the area of SLAPP lawsuits with the entry into force of the Act on the Protection of Persons Involved in Public Activities, and one recommendation from last year, for the allocation of funds for state advertising, has been omitted, while the new recommendation on the digitalization of asset card verification is of a technical nature. Along with a number of positive things, the Ministry notes that the report highlights the length of court proceedings and the negative perception of the independence of the judiciary by the public as significant challenges. The Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation Minister added however, that it continues to work on this issue in cooperation with all other relevant judicial partners. This, it emphasizes, is also visible in the decrease in the total number of unresolved cases in the courts.

Source: HRT