COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 2025 Rule of Law Report Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Croatia Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 2025 Rule of Law Report The rule of law situation in the European Union

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COMMISSION
Strasbourg, 8.7.2025
SWD(2025) 911 final
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT
2025 Rule of Law Report
Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Croatia
Accompanying the document
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions
2025 Rule of Law Report
The rule of law situation in the European Union
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ABSTRACT
In Croatia, following structural efforts to address remuneration, legislative amendments
introduced objective criteria for adjusting salaries of judges and state attorneys. Efforts
continue to maintain and improve the integrity of judges and state attorneys. The amendments
to the Law on the State Attorney’s Office were finalised in Government to remove the legal
basis for periodic security checks on all state attorneys. Legal changes are envisaged to
ensure that the system of registration judges is compatible with EU law in line with the
requirements set by the Court of Justice. The State Judicial Council called on Court
Presidents to respect the rules on random allocation when selecting court cases to be assigned
to new judges. Electronic communication systems between courts and users saw increased
use, further closing the digitalisation gap. The level of perceived judicial independence has
continued to increase, although it remains very low. The total backlog decreased, while the
length of trials in most cases increased.
The implementation of the first Action Plan for 2022-2024 under the Anti-Corruption
Strategy ended and the evaluation is ongoing. Authorities are developing a track record of
investigations, prosecutions and convictions of corruption, including in high-level cases, and
the revision of the Criminal Procedure Code and the Law on the Office for the Suppression of
Corruption and Organised Crime for the efficiency of investigation and prosecution of
corruption offences is expected in the first quarter of 2026. The Commission for the
Resolution of Conflict of Interest continues to face difficulties verifying asset declarations, as
its resources are scarce and advanced digital tools are not yet fully operational. Codes of
ethics are in place at all levels of the administration and Government. The implementation of
the new law on lobbying is on track, while the public is not directly informed about meetings
between lobbyists and officials. The State Audit Office reported no substantial violations of
the rules on political party financing. The Government is raising awareness on the
harmfulness of corruption and the importance of whistleblower legislation. Measures were
taken to address corruption in public procurement which remains a high-risk area of
corruption.
The independently financed Agency for Electronic Media (AEM) remains important for
media oversight and promoting pluralism. The Government plans to update the Law on
Croatian Radio-Television and the Law on Electronic Media. Croatia’s public broadcaster is
undertaking significant reforms to address financial and governance challenges. No steps
have been taken yet to strengthen the legal framework and oversight mechanisms to ensure a
fair and transparent allocation of state advertising at national, regional and local level. A new
centralised media ownership and financing database was launched on AEM’s website. While
journalists primarily rely on the Law on Media to access public information due to its
simplified procedure and shorter deadlines, the law lacks a clearly defined response
timeframe, without oversight by an independent monitoring body. Journalists still face a
number of challenges although efforts to improve their safety are ongoing. SLAPPs continue
to be an area of concern and so far, some steps are being taken to address them.
Impact assessments and evaluations of laws expanded, and the portal for public consultations
was introduced to local and regional levels. Significant steps were made to improve follow-
up to the People’s Ombudsperson’s recommendations and on access to information. The shift
toward multiannual funding of civil society organisations continued, while the new National
Plan for Creating an Enabling Environment is under preparation.
2
RECOMMENDATIONS
Overall, concerning the recommendations in the 2024 Rule of Law Report, Croatia has made:
• Some progress on revising the Criminal Procedure Code and the Law on the Office for
the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime, in line with the Anti-Corruption
Strategy, so as to further increase the efficiency of investigations and prosecution of
corruption offences.
• No progress yet on stepping up efforts to strengthen the legal framework and oversight
mechanisms to ensure a fair and transparent allocation of state advertising at national,
regional and local level, including the public tender procedure.
• Some progress on the recommendation to continue efforts to address the issue of strategic
lawsuits against public participation targeted at journalists, including by reviewing the
legal provisions on defamation and encouraging wider use of procedural rules that allow
dismissing groundless lawsuits, taking into account the European standards on the
protection of journalists.
• Significant progress on further improving the follow-up to recommendations and ensuring
a more systematic response to information requests of the Ombudsperson.
On this basis, and considering other developments that took place in the period of reference,
and in addition to recalling the relevant commitments made under the Recovery and
Resilience Plan, it is recommended to Croatia to:
• Take measures to further improve the efficiency of justice, particularly as regards the
length of proceedings in litigious commercial and civil cases.
• Take forward plans to revise the Criminal Procedure Code and the Law on the Office for
the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime, in line with the Anti-Corruption
Strategy, so as to further increase the efficiency of investigations and prosecution of
corruption offences.
• Step up efforts to strengthen the legal framework and oversight mechanisms to ensure a
fair and transparent allocation of state advertising at national, regional and local level,
including the public tender procedure.
• Continue efforts to address the issue of strategic lawsuits against public participation
targeted at journalists, including by reviewing the legal provisions on defamation and
encouraging wider use of procedural rules that allow dismissing groundless lawsuits,
taking into account the European standards on the protection of journalists.
3
I. JUSTICE SYSTEM1
Independence
The level of perceived judicial independence has continued to increase in Croatia,
although it remains very low among both the general public and companies. Overall,
28% of the general population and companies perceive the level of independence of courts
and judges to be ‘fairly or very good’ in 20252
. Among the general public, this figure has
increased in comparison with 2024 (23%) and has significantly increased in comparison with
2021 (17%). The perceived judicial independence among companies remains at the same
level as in 2024 (28%) and has significantly increased in comparison with 2021 (16%). The
main reasons cited by the general public and by companies for the perceived lack of
independence of courts and judges are the perception of interference or pressure from the
Government and politicians, and interference or pressure from economic or other specific
interests3
.
Amendments to the Law on the State Attorney’s Office were finalised in Government to
remove the legal basis for periodic security checks on all state attorneys. Following the
recommendation in the 2022 Rule of Law Report4
, security checks on judges had been
removed by way of a Constitutional Court decision and the Government approved on 27 June
2025 draft amendments to the Law on the State Attorney’s Office to remove the legal basis
for periodic security checks on all state attorneys. In the meantime, no security checks on
state attorneys had been conducted based on previous provisions.
Efforts continue to maintain and improve the integrity of judges and state attorneys. In
2024, efforts continued to react to alleged misconduct and criminal acts of judges and state
attorneys. The State Judicial Council received 47 requests to initiate criminal proceedings
regarding judges and, at the request of competent authorities, started nine disciplinary
proceedings in relation to judges, which also concluded with three dismissals5
. In addition,
the State Judicial Council verified external activities of judges, rejecting activities no longer
1
An overview of the institutional framework for all four pillars can be found here.
2
Figures 50 and 52, 2025 EU Justice Scoreboard and Figures 49 and 51, 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard. The
level of perceived judicial independence is categorised as follows: very low (below 30% of respondents
perceive judicial independence as fairly good and very good); low (between 30-39%), average (between 40-
59%), high (between 60-75%), very high (above 75%).
3
More detailed surveys to identify the underlying reasons of different stakeholders for the continuously low
level of perceived judicial independence are not available. The last comprehensive survey of court users and
professionals on the accessibility and quality of the court services was in 2015. See Figure 45, 2017 EU
Justice Scoreboard and Figure 41, 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard showing that between 2016 and 2023, no
surveys were conducted.
4
The 2022 Rule of Law Report had recommended Croatia to ‘reconsider the newly introduced periodic
security checks conducted by the National Security Agency on all judges and state attorneys by ensuring
their integrity based on other existing mechanisms, taking into account European standards on judicial
independence and autonomy of prosecutors and the opinion of the Venice Commission’.
5
Out of these, in 37 cases the requests were denied after the Council verified that prosecution service has no
open investigations (five cases were still ongoing in February 2025). In March 2025, the State Judicial
Council kept seven judges under suspension due to ongoing criminal proceedings, and three due to ongoing
disciplinary proceedings. The number of initiated disciplinary proceedings has been decreasing (23 in 2021).
In 2024, the State Judicial Council issued seven disciplinary sanctions (five in 2023): three fines, one
reprimand, and three dismissals. Croatian Government (2025), written input, p. 2, and country visit Croatia,
State Judicial Council.
4
authorised by the amended Law on Courts6
. In 2024, the State Attorney’s Council received
no further requests from the competent authorities to start disciplinary proceedings regarding
state attorneys. With the help of the electronic registers and dedicated human resources7
, the
State Judicial Council and the State Attorney’s Council checked all annual updates of asset
declarations of judges and state attorneys, and only a few minor irregularities were identified.
The State Judicial Council called on Court Presidents to respect the rules on random
allocation when selecting court cases to be assigned to new judges. In February 2025, the
State Judicial Council alerted Court Presidents that rules on random allocation should also be
respected when choosing which of the ongoing cases should be assigned to new judges
arriving to courts8
. In some courts, the judges could select themselves which of their open
cases would be re-allocated to the new judges. Having made clear that the selection of
ongoing cases should be random, the State Judicial Council announced that it will ask the
Judicial Inspection to monitor whether the problematic practices continue.
Legal changes are envisaged to ensure that the system of registration judges is
compatible with EU law in line with the requirements set by the Court of Justice. In
October 2024, the Ministry of Justice established a working group to address the
requirements resulting from the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union as
regards the practice of registration judges9
. The working group is considering amendments to
the Law on Courts, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Code of Civil Procedure, which
would change the role of registration judges and include increased use of the expanded panels
of judges in decisions related to consistency of case law10
.
Quality
Training of judges and court staff aims to improve communication about the work of
the judiciary in an effort to foster trust. In September 2023, the Supreme Court adopted
‘Guidelines for communication of the judiciary with the public’. These Guidelines set out the
goal of timely, accurate and transparent communication about the content and meaning of
decisions for which there is public interest. Drawing on those Guidelines, the Judicial
Academy conducted several training courses addressed primarily to the spokespersons and
information officers at the courts to support them to communicate more effectively to the
public, manage public relations especially in high-profile cases and use different
communication channels to share information11
.
6
In 2024, the State Judicial Council received 36 requests from judges regarding external activities, approving
29 and rejecting five relating to membership in disciplinary bodies of professional organisations, while two
requests were not necessary as law allowed those activities. Country visit Croatia, State Judicial Council.
7
Improving the IT tools and resources of both Councils by the beginning of 2022 was a milestone under the
Recovery and Resilience Plan, which Croatia successfully fulfilled. 2024 Rule of Law Report, Croatia, p. 5.
8
Country visit Croatia, Centre for Democracy and Law Miko Tripalo and State Judicial Council.
9
Judgment of the CJEU, Joined Cases C-554/21 Hann-Invest, C-622/21 Mineral-Sekuline and C-727/21
Udruga Khl Medvešcak Zagreb. The CJEU ruled in a preliminary ruling request of the High Commercial
Court regarding a practice in courts of second instance whereby registration judges, when finding a judgment
inconsistent with case law or the 'legal position' previously accepted at that court, may stay the delivery of
the adopted judgment and request that a section meeting be convened. A 'legal position' adopted at a section
meeting would be binding on all judicial panels belonging to the section; 2024 Rule of Law Report, Croatia,
p. 7.
10
Country visit Croatia, Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation.
11
Country visit Croatia, Supreme Court.
5
Objective criteria were introduced in law for updating remuneration of judges and state
attorneys. Apart from the important structural efforts made in the course of 2023 and 2024 to
address remuneration in the judiciary12
, legislation was expected to define objective criteria
for adjusting salaries of judges and state attorneys. Following discussions with judicial
representatives in a Government Working Group, on 21 February 2025, Parliament adopted
an amendment to the Law on remuneration and other material rights of judicial officials. The
amendment provides that the salary base for judges and state attorneys is the same as the one
for public officials. This means that any change of salary base, for example an increase
negotiated by trade unions for public officials due to inflation, will apply automatically also
to judges and state attorneys after adjustment of public officials’ salary base.
Electronic communication systems between courts and users saw increased use, further
closing the digitalisation gap in the justice system. The digitalisation of the justice system
has seen additional improvements in many areas13
. The ‘e-Communication’ system, which
was in 2024 connected to the e-Citizens and the e-Authorisation systems (for legal persons)
to allow receiving court documents via secure mailbox, was upgraded with new
functionalities14
. In 2024, the overall use of the ‘e-Communication’ system15
further
increased, mostly among the professional users and companies16
. The implementation of the
Recovery and Resilience Plan continues and includes several milestones, targets and
investments related to the digitalisation of justice17
. For example, in November 2024, virtual
assistants were launched for the land registry to assist users with simple tasks, and extension
to other justice services is planned18
. Furthermore, to increase the publication of first and
second instance court judgments19
, an IT solution for automatic and semi-automatic
anonymisation of all court decisions (using artificial intelligence) was connected to the
publication portal. Amendments to the Law on Courts and the Ordinance on the Methods of
Anonymisation, Publication and Search of Anonymised Court Decisions since January 2025
12
The 2023 Rule of Law Report recommended Croatia to ‘continue structural efforts to address the
remuneration of judges, state attorneys and judicial staff, taking into account European standards on
resources and remuneration for the justice system’. In 2024, the Rule of Law Report found that significant
progress was achieved on this recommendation.
13
Figures 40-48, 2025 EU Justice Scoreboard. The electronic tools incrementally improved in all areas except
for use of digital technology by courts and prosecution service (Figure 42), the electronic communication in
prosecution service (Figure 44) and the online access to published judgments (Figure 47).
14
For example, with case identifiers and search functions. Croatian Government (2025), written input, pp. 5-6.
15
Amendments are planned to be submitted to Parliament in third quarter of 2025 which would allow for
integrating misdemeanor cases (before Municipal Courts), which are the last category of cases not yet
included into the e-Communication system.
16
In 2024, the total volume of incoming documents arriving to courts electronically increased to nearly 1.6
million, with largest increases among companies and legal professionals. For example, before commercial,
municipal and administrative courts, the lawyers submitted 53-67% of their documents electronically.
Outgoing electronic communication from courts to court parties and legal professionals remained stable
around at 3.4 million documents, with lawyers, companies and state authorities among the largest recipients.
Country visit Croatia, Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation.
17
The fourth payment request was disbursed in April 2024 (EUR 162.5 million net amount in grants) and
included the satisfactory fulfilment of milestone 218 (Adoption of amendments to the legislative framework
in the area of justice with the new non-contentious Procedure Act). The fifth payment request was submitted
in April 2024 and disbursed in July 2024 (EUR 555.7 million in grants and EUR 266 million loans, both net
amounts) and included the satisfactory fulfilment of milestone 220 (New Framework Benchmarks for the
work of judges adopted and an active judicial case management tool introduced).
18
Croatian Government (2025), written input, p. 6.
19
Figure 47, 2025 EU Justice Scoreboard.
6
introduced the obligation to publish all court decisions on a special website with prior
anonymisation, to ensure compliance with the rules on the protection of personal data20
.
Efficiency
The total backlog decreased while the length of trials in most cases increased. According
to the 2025 EU Justice Scoreboard, backlogs and length of proceedings remain a serious
concern, particularly in litigious civil and commercial cases, where backlog was, by the end
of 2023, still the largest in the EU21
. By the end of 2024, the total number of pending cases
decreased by more than 6% compared to end 2023, particularly before municipal courts
receiving the bulk of the cases (-8%), High Commercial Court (-6%), the High
Misdemeanour Court (-7%) and the Supreme Court (-26%). In several other courts, the
backlog increased, e.g. before county courts (+13%), administrative courts (+18), the High
Administrative Court (+7%) and the High Criminal Court (23%)22
. Furthermore, the total
number of oldest pending cases (10 years and older) slightly increased (by nearly 2%)23
.
Despite improvements in some types of cases, length of proceedings, in most cases,
increased, which remains a serious concern. In 2024, the average length of proceedings in the
first instance courts remained among the longest in the EU with 1 147 days in litigious
commercial cases (1 334 days in 2023) and 797 days in litigious civil cases (764 in 2023)24
.
However, the average length of proceedings further decreased in first instance criminal cases
before municipal courts (752 days, down from 776 days in 2023) and before county courts
(779 days, down from 808 days in 2023), with average length for the whole of 2024 of 525
days for all types of first instance court cases. In more narrow categories, in 2023, the
average length of proceedings before first instance courts decreased in bribery cases (478
days, 531 days in 2022), while it increased to 771 days in money laundering cases (597 in
2022) – both remaining among the longest in the EU 25
.
II. ANTI-CORRUPTION FRAMEWORK
The perception among experts, citizens and businesses is that the level of corruption in
the public sector remains high. In the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency
International, Croatia scores 47/100, ranks 23rd
in the European Union and 63th
globally26
.
20
The Recovery and Resilience Plan for Croatia includes target 226 which states: ‘All new first and second
instance court decisions ending proceedings are anonymised and published on the portal.’ The target is part
of seventh payment request, hence it has not yet been assessed by the Commission.
21
The data for 2023 continue to show particular challenges in litigious civil and commercial cases, and all non-
criminal cases (Figures 5, 12, 13 of the 2025 EU Justice Scoreboard), although, similarly to 2022, the
positive sign is that the clearance rate in litigious civil and commercial cases remained among the highest in
the EU (Figure 11, 2025 EU Justice Scoreboard).
22
Supreme Court (2025), pp. 29-30.
23
7 864 cases at the end of 2024, compared to 7 725 cases at the end of 2023, mostly at Municipal courts.
Supreme Court (2025), pp. 78-79.
24
This brings the average lengths slightly below the 2022 level, when it was 1 187 days. Country visit Croatia,
Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation.
25
Figures 21 and 22, 2025 EU Justice Scoreboard.
26
Transparency International (2025), Corruption Perceptions Index 2024. The level of perceived corruption is
categorised as follows: low (the perception among experts and business executives of public sector
corruption scores above 79); relatively low (scores between 79-60), relatively high (scores between 59-50),
high (scores below 50).
7
This perception remained relatively stable27
over the past five years. The 2025 Special
Eurobarometer on Corruption shows that 92% of respondents consider corruption to be
widespread in their country (EU average 69%) and 61% of respondents feel personally
affected by corruption in their daily lives (EU average 30%). As regards businesses, 90% of
companies consider that corruption is widespread (EU average 63%) and 60% consider that
corruption is a problem when doing business (EU average 35%). Furthermore, 40% of
respondents find that there are enough successful prosecutions to deter people from corrupt
practices (EU average 36%), while 16% of companies believe that people and businesses
caught for bribing a senior official are appropriately punished (EU average 33%)28
.
The implementation of the first Action Plan for 2022-2024 under the Anti-Corruption
Strategy ended and the evaluation is ongoing. In August 2024, the Government adopted
the Report on the implementation of the Action Plan 2022-2024. Generally, the
implementation is on track with 79% of measures implemented and 8% partially
implemented. Implemented activities include, among others, the adoption of the Lobbying
act29
. The second Action Plan for 2025-2027 was adopted in May 2025 and announced,
amongst others, amendments to laws on the right of access to information and whistleblower
protection, as well as measures to prevent corruption in local and regional self-government
units30
.
Authorities are developing a track record of investigations, prosecutions and
convictions of corruption, including in high-level cases31
. The specialised anti-corruption
police (PNUSKOK) and prosecution (USKOK) continued to report that their cooperation
works well. In 2024, EPPO investigated 22 corruption offences in Croatia. The cooperation
with EPPO faced challenges due to a conflict of competence between national prosecutors
and the EPPO in one prominent case32
. As demonstrated by the data, in 2024, 601 corruption
offences were reported by PNUSKOK to the USKOK (down from 747 in 2023)33
. The 2024
Report of the State Attorney’s Office34
shows that the number of suspects of corruption
offences in 2024 remained stable35
and that the number of criminal investigations increased36
,
with new corruption cases continuing to come to light, including by high-level officials. In
2024, the State Attorney’s Office indicted, after investigation, 155 persons (121 in 2023). In
27
In 2020, the score was 47, while in 2024, the score was 47. The score significantly increases/decreases when
it changes more than five points; improves/deteriorates (changes between 4-5 points); is relatively stable
(changes from 1-3 points) in the last five years.
28
Data from Special Eurobarometer 561 (2025) and Flash Eurobarometer 557 (2025).
29
Croatian Government (2024). There are more activities included in the Action Plan that are explained later in
this chapter.
30
Croatian Government (2025).
31
DORH Report for 2024. Croatian Government (2025), written input, pp. 19-21, and country visit Croatia,
USKOK.
32
On 19 November 2024, the State Attorney General reassigned a case of corruption, which was investigated
both by the EPPO and national prosecutors, to national prosecutors (USKOK). EPPO (2025) and country
visit Croatia, PNUSKOK, USKOK and EPPO.
33
The statistics in PNUSKOK count criminal offences, not number of cases or suspects like USKOK. A single
suspect may have committed several offences. Country visit Croatia, PNUSKOK.
34
State Attorney’s Office (2025), pp. 224-228.
35
In 2024, the State Attorney’s Office received criminal notifications regarding 1 464 alleged suspects of
corruption offences (similar to 1 491 in 2023), representing 76.81% of the total criminal notifications
received by USKOK. Country visit Croatia, DORH and USKOK, and State Attorney’s Office (2025), p. 224.
36
In 2024, investigations were opened concerning 149 persons (128 in 2023). State Attorney’s Office (2025),
p. 224.
8
the same period, the courts continued to deliver more judgments than in past years37
. As
regards foreign bribery, the OECD highlighted that Croatia is enhancing detection and
awareness of foreign bribery, but more efforts are needed since it also found that Croatian
authorities did not detect most of the allegations reported in the media and there have been no
formal investigations38
.
There has been some progress on the recommendation to revise legal provisions
relevant for the efficiency of investigation and prosecution of corruption offences39.
Working groups have been discussing possible revisions to legislation since 2022 and the
government plans to adopt draft legislation by the first quarter of 202640
. The Government
indicated this may include measures to focus the competence of USKOK on more serious
forms of corruption which could include the offence of abuse of office, with other crimes left
to municipal prosecutors. The State Attorney General supported amendments that would
reduce the number of hearings before the panel of judges verifying the indictment, for
example by allowing in camera discussions or exchanges in writing41
. 72% of all convictions
in USKOK corruption cases cases involved plea barganing agreements, without a full trial
taking place42
. The percentage of USKOK cases where the investigation was finished within
six months to one year increased43
. In terms of resources, salary increases led to more
applications for positions in USKOK but many candidates were found to lack the necessary
skills and experience to be recruited, and USKOK considers that its service remains
understaffed44
. The State Attorney General supports amendments to the Law on USKOK that
would lower the seniority requirement for the Head of USKOK, which would make more
candidates eligible45
. As for court proceedings, the Recovery and Resilience Plan for Croatia
includes a target on efficiency of corruption court proceedings46
. Croatia has also amended its
Code of Criminal Procedure to ensure that specific evidentiary actions, such as wiretapping,
may also be imposed for the offence of bribery of representatives (i.e. deputies)47
. Therefore,
there has been some progress on the implementation of the recommendation made in the
2024 Rule of Law Report.
The Commission for the Resolution of Conflict of Interest continues to face difficulties
in verifying asset declarations, as its resources are limited and digital tools are not yet
fully operational. In Croatia, there are approximately 3 000 public officials required by the
37
There were judgments concerning 314 persons in 2024 (179 in 2023). Out of the 314 judgments in 2024, 301
were convictions for corruption (i.e., conviction rate of 96%, compared to 66% in 2023). As regards the
sanctions for corruption offences, 76 persons received a prison sentence in 2024 (47 in 2023). State
Attorney’s Office (2025), pp. 224-225.
38
OECD (2024).
39
The 2024 Rule of Law Report recommended Croatia to ‘Revise the Criminal Procedure Code and the Law
on the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime, in line with the Anti-Corruption
Strategy, so as to further increase the efficiency of investigations and prosecution of corruption offences’.
40
Croatian Government(2025a).
41
Country visit Croatia, State Attorney’s Office.
42
Country visit Croatia, USKOK.
43
State Attorney’s Office (2025), p. 174. Cases where where the investigation was finished within six months
or sooner: 42% in 2024 (compared to 16% in 2023, 35% in 2021). More investigations were finished within
a year, namely about 69% in 2024 (57% in 2023).
44
Country visit Croatia, USKOK.
45
From 15 to 12 years. Country visit Croatia, DORH.
46
The Recovery and Resilience Plan for Croatia includes target 238 which states: ‘Reduction by 200 days of
the average length of court cases for corruption and organised crime offences compared to Q1/2021 (999
days)’. The target is part of tenth payment request, hence it has not yet been assessed by the Commission.
47
Country visit Croatia, Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation.
9
Law on the Conflict of Interest System to declare their assets. The Commission for the
Resolution of Conflict of Interest (CRC) decided to introduce a prioritisation strategy to
render more effective the regular content verifications. Therefore, within the framework of
available human and technical capacities, CRC adopted an annual regular content verification
plan to carry out, ex officio, regular content verifications of the last submitted and preliminary
(administrative) verified asset declaration of 50 obliged entities of certain duty categories,
determined based on a random selection from the Register of obliged entities. In addition, the
CRC verifies declarations where it has knowledge of increased risk based on complaints or
media reporting48
. The CRC is also tasked with supervising the obligation of municipal
council members to declare shareholdings in companies above 5%. It continues to be difficult
for the CRC to verify these submissions, which are made to local councils49
. An IT tool was
finalised that allows officials to automatically retrieve data about their property and property
of their partner and minor children from existing state registers, as a facilitation in filling out
the asset declarations, and for the CRC to compare data in submitted asset declarations with
the data in these registers50
. However, as the comparison tool is part of larger IT platform that
remains under construction, the CRC notes that it can only carry out manual verifications and
that the system does not yet automatically notify discrepancies between declarations and data
in other registries, making cross-verification challenging51
.
Codes of ethics are in place at all levels of the administration and Government. At local
level, all administrations have now adopted a code of conduct. In February 2025, a new Code
of Ethics for civil servants and employees at state level, regulating the declaration and
handling of conflicts of interests, entered into force52
. As regards the 2022 Code of Conduct
for State Officials in Executive Bodies, the Implementation Council provided training on the
Code to most of the officials covered 53
. In 2024, it provided two opinions on compliance
with the Code, following the received requests. The number of opinions that the CRC
provided to public officials in 2024 remained at around 20054
. The Parliament Committee on
the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System received two requests in 2024 relating
to alleged breaches of the Code of Ethics55
. The OECD has suggested that Croatia could
invest in awareness raising and education about the Code of Conduct among parliamentarians
and parliamentary staff, including by developing accompanying guidance and concrete
practice examples56
.
The implementation of the new law on lobbying is on track, while the public is not
directly informed about meetings between lobbyists and officials. The law on lobbying
48
CRC (2024), and OECD (2024), p. 12. (Plan for 2025 to be adopted still).
49
2022 Rule of Law Report, Croatia. Even where the CRC would detect non-compliance, it lacks the power to
investigate and impose a sanction.
50
This is part of national Recovery and Resilience Plan, Milestone no. 241. The milestone is part of sixth
payment request, hence it has not yet been assessed by the Commission.
51
Country visit Croatia, CRC. The Chair of the CRC resigned on 11 April 2025. Parliament approved the CRC
Chair’s resignation, and the remaining members of the Commission appointed an Acting President of the
Commission on 30 April 2025.
52
Croatian Government (2025), written input, p. 15, and country visit Croatia, Ministry of Justice, Public
Administration and Digital Transformation.
53
Two trainings took place in 2024. OECD (2024), p. 11.
54
Country visit Croatia, CRC.
55
Country visit Croatia, Parliament Secretariat. Violations of the Code of Ethics are not subject to sanctions.
56
OECD (2024), p. 16.
10
entered into force on 1 October 202457
. The same month, the CRC adopted the ‘Rulebook on
Keeping the Register of Lobbyists’. Officials may only engage in meetings with entities
included in the register and the CRC can impose sanctions for violations of the law. The
register includes data on lobbyists but not on the meetings that took place. International
guidelines on lobbying recommend making publicly available, timely, comprehensive and
detailed information on all lobbying activities58
. Lobbyists must report annually to the CRC
on their activities, including who they meet, but this data will not be recorded in the lobby
register, and it is made available only following access to information requests. The inability
of the public to see what lobbyist their officials and representatives are meeting significantly
limits transparency of interest representation59
. As regards obligations for state officials, they
are required to regularly disclose important meetings with third parties publicly on the
website of the authority in which the official holds office or via social media60
.
The State Audit Office reported no substantial violations of the rules on political party
financing. As in previous years, most of the parties audited by the State Audit Office did not
fully comply with the Law on Financing Political Activities, Election Campaigns and
Referendums in their operations61
. The number of temporary suspensions of disbursement of
funds for not providing annual reports, as well as the forfeiture of the payment of part of the
funds for those not complying with the reminder to provide that report is similar as in last
year62
. At the same time, the State Audit Office reported that there were no substantial
violations of the rules of political party financing that could indicate corruption63
.
The Government is raising awareness about the harmfulness of corruption and the
importance of whistleblower legislation. The number of external and internal reports by
whistleblowers to the Ombudsperson has remained stable in 202464
. The Ombudsperson
notes that competent authorities often need a lot of time to follow-up on reports and need to
be reminded. The Ombudsperson has also reported about significant delays in legal
57
2023 Rule of Law Report, Croatia; OECD (2024), pp. 28-29; Croatia fulfilled 25% of OECD criteria on
regulatory framework for lobbying and 22% of OECD criteria on implementation. Now that the Lobbying
Law is in effect, Croatia fulfils 75% of criteria on regulations and 89% of criteria for implementation.
58
OECD, Recommendation of the Council on Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying and Influence,
OECD/LEGAL/0379, p.8.
59
This criticism was also expressed by the OECD and civil society (Civil Liberties Union for Europe (2025)).
OECD also identified some gaps and areas where it could be better aligned with current best practice. For
example, the definition of lobbying is narrow as it only focuses on direct oral or written communications
with a lobbied person. In addition, the list of exemptions is quite broad, including persons participating as
experts in meetings, sessions or consultations organised by government, and may offer important loopholes
due to vague wording, see OECD (2024), pp. 28-29.
60
The Code of Conduct for State Officials in Executive Bodies does not define precisely what ‘important
meetings’ are, leaving it to the discretion of the reporting person. OECD (2024), p. 27, there is currently no
requirement for the proactive disclosure of ministers’ agendas (OECD (2024)).
61
Country visit Croatia, State Audit Office.
62
The State Electoral Commission decided in 37 cases (41 in 2022) to temporarily suspend the disbursement
of the funds. It issued 33 decisions (29 for 2022) on forfeiture of the payment of part of the funds for regular
annual funding because these 25 individuals and 3 parties did not submit by the end of 2024 the annual
accounts for 2023.
63
31 of 47 political parties and 3 of five independent representatives. The irregularities identified by the audit
of political parties for 2024, compared to 2023, continue to be most significant in the area of financial
statements and accounting.
64
46 external reports in 2023, compared to 57 in 2023, and 50 internal reports in 2024, compared to 38 in
2023; the public sector tends to make more reports, and only 10% of the reports turns out to fall within the
scope of the law; Country visit Croatia, People’s Ombudsperson Office, and People’s Ombudsperson’s
Office (2025), pp. 247-259.
11
proceedings concerning retaliatory measures taken against whistleblowers65
. The
Rehabilitation Centre for Stress and Trauma was contracted in September 2024 to provide
emotional support to whistleblowers. The virtual assistant tool to provide information about
whistleblowing rules and procedures remains in development and is expected to be finalised
in 2025, as part of a wider IT anti-corruption platform66
. In September 2024, the
Ombudsperson also presented67
a Guide for reporting irregularities to inform potential
whistleblowers and confidential persons on the personal and material scope of application of
the Act, and possible legal remedies. Parliament has so far not discussed the recent annual
reports of the Ombudsperson and the Commission for the Resolution of Conflicts of Interest,
nor has there been a follow-up on their recommendations by the addressed entities68
.
Stakeholders consider that prevention and education should be stepped up, including by
awareness campaigns on the harmfulness of corruption69
. The Ministry of Justice, Public
Administration and Digital Transformation continued an information and educational
campaign aimed at raising awareness of the harmfulness of corruption and encouraging
citizens to actively participate in the fight against corruption70
. The Ministry is evaluating the
effects of this campaign.
Measures were taken to address corruption in public procurement, which remains a
high-risk area of corruption. Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU shows that
27% of companies in Croatia (EU average 25%) think that corruption has prevented them
from winning a public tender or a public procurement contract in practice in the last three
years71
. 27% of companies perceive the level of independence of the public procurement
review body (The State Commission for Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures-
DKOM) as very or fairly good72
. The Single Market and Competitiveness Scoreboard on
access to public procurement in Croatia reports 23% of single bids for 2023 (29% EU
average). In November 2024, the Minister of Health was arrested on suspicion of corrupt
practices in public procurement procedures. The Ministry of Health has conducted an audit of
all extraordinary public procurements in healthcare, which provided no significant
discoveries according to the Minister of Health73
. The mandate of more members of DKOM
expired. While Parliament has not yet appointed (seven) new members, interviews with
candidates were held in January 202574
. As a result, only one out of the three councils solving
appeals is operational75
. DKOM did not transmit any reports about corruption to the State
Attorney’s Office. The Electronic Public Procurement Notice (EOJN) RH platform was
65
Country visit Croatia, People’s Ombudsperson Office, OECD (2024), p. 13.
66
Country visit Croatia, Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation.
67
People’s Ombudsperson Office (2024)
68
OECD (2024), p. 11.
69
Country visit Croatia, State Attorney’s Office and USKOK.
70
Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation (2025).
71
Flash Eurobarometer 557 on Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU (2025). This is 2 percentage
points above the EU average.
72
Figure 59, 2025 EU Justice Scoreboard.
73
Country visit Croatia, Ministry of Health. Večernji list (2025).
74
Country visit Croatia, DKOM. The 2022 Rule of Law Report found that ‘safeguards for the State
Commission’s independence, particularly regarding the appointment and discipline of the members of the
State Commission, could be further improved’.
75
There was a further decrease in the share of public procurement procedures reviewed by DKOM to only
2.6% of all published procedures in 2024 (down from 3.6% in 2023) which it considers is mostly due to the
increase of review fees in October 2022.
12
further upgraded to simplify processes and making information easier accessible to the public
and oversight authorities76
.
III. MEDIA PLURALISM AND MEDIA FREEDOM
The independently financed Agency for Electronic Media remains important for media
oversight and promoting pluralism. Initially planned in 2024, the reform of the Law on
Croatian Radio-Television and the Law on Electronic Media was delayed due to significant
disruptions in the distribution of print media, which the Government aims to address through
subsidies77
. The Ministry of Culture and Media aims to present the revised Law on Media to
Parliament in 2025, intended also to implement certain provisions of the European Media
Freedom Act (EMFA)78
. This would include plans to expand the mandate of the media
regulator – Agency for Electronic Media (AEM) – to encompass all forms of media,
including print79
, which is a part of a broader effort to establish a unified regulatory
framework, aiming to enhance comprehensive media oversight. AEM remains involved in
tackling disinformation and hate speech, funding several projects and supporting the new
national fact-checking platform80
. Media literacy efforts remain a strong focus, with several
projects funded in 2024, including initiatives to educate high school students on AI-generated
misinformation. The Council for Electronic Media -– the governing body of the Agency –
faces scrutiny regarding the indefinite re-election of its members, prompting discussions
about the implementation of term limits to prevent prolonged governance risk and introduce
fresh perspectives.
Croatia’s public broadcaster, Croatian Radio-Television, is undertaking significant
reforms to address financial and governance challenges. HRT is engaged in developing a
robust reform and restructuring plan. Central to this initiative is the establishment of a new
legislative framework that would focus on building a stable and independent financial model
and would include governance changes, expected to be presented by the Government by end
of 202581
. Since 2010, HRT has encountered severe financial challenges due to an unchanged
subscription fee, resulting in diminishing revenues. The financial difficulties are mostly
related to the existing funding model, viewed by HRT and stakeholders as outdated82
, which
has led to ongoing discussions on alternative approaches. To address its financial situation,
HRT has announced the reduction in its workforce by approximately 1 000 employees,
equivalent to one-third of its staff83
. This has prompted the Government to provide direct
support for severance packages, with voluntary leave programmes already in progress.
Government intervention was considered necessary but not sufficient to address the structural
financial issues. According to MPM 2025, independence of Public Service Media indicators
score in the high-risk band84
, while concerns persist regarding media freedom and pluralism
76
DKOM (2025).
77
Country visit Croatia, Ministry of Culture and Media, and Croatian Newspapers Publishers Association. The
sudden contract termination by the country’s sole retail distributor left publishers searching for alternatives.
In response, the Croatian Post temporarily assumed responsibility for subscription-based distribution, while
retail distribution channels remain unresolved. This situation threatens the affordability and accessibility of
publications.
78
Country visit Croatia, Ministry of Culture and Media.
79
Country visit Croatia, Ministry of Culture and Media, and Agency for Electronic Media.
80
Online platform, available at: https://tocnotako.hr/; Country visit Croatia, Ministry of Culture and Media.
81
Country visit Croatia, Ministry of Culture and Media, and HRT Management.
82
Country visit Croatia, HRT Management, Croatian Journalists’ Association (2025), written input, p. 15.
83
Country visit Croatia, HRT Management.
84
Media Pluralism Monitor (2025), p. 25.
13
at HRT. Journalists have publicly reported issues of political influence, editorial interference,
and censorship85
, though HRT’s management contests these claims86
.
There was no progress yet to strengthen the legal framework and oversight mechanisms
to ensure a fair and transparent allocation of state advertising at national, regional and
local level87. State regulation of resources and support to the media sector scores the
medium-low risk band, however, the Media Pluralism Monitor notes issues with the lack of
transparency in state advertising88
. The framework for allocation of state advertising
continues to raise significant concerns, with no progress made to strengthen it since the 2024
Rule of Law Report. According to the Government, the general provision in the Law on
Budget emphasises transparency in state spending89
. However, some stakeholders have raised
concerns about state advertising not being allocated based on transparent criteria, as well as
challenges in fully meeting reporting requirements, particularly at the local level90
. In some
cases, contracts between local authorities and media organisations may create ambiguity
between promotional content and journalism, which could have implications for editorial
independence, underscoring the importance of establishing a transparent and accountable
system. The complexity of reporting requirements exacerbates these issues, as local
authorities often struggle to fully adhere to transparency requirements. The Government is
preparing legislation on the implementation of the EMFA that aims to address this issue91
.
However, overall, there has been no progress yet on the recommendation to ensure a fair and
transparent allocation of state advertising.
A new centralised media ownership and financing database has been launched on
AEM’s website. As part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, the “Platform for Publishing
Media Ownership Structure and Sources of Media Financing” has been launched. It aims to
provide information on media service providers, including their ownership structures,
financial sources, state aid received, and market concentration92
. It includes information on
media outlets and their registered owners, along with details on revenues, funding methods
and sources, and concession data and it aims to tackle also the data on beneficial owners93
.
The database has been launched in view of the obligations of the European Media Freedom
85
Country visit Croatia, Croatian Journalists’ Association.
86
Country visit Croatia, HRT Management.
87
The 2024 Rule of Law Report recommended Croatia to ‘[s]tep up efforts to strengthen the legal framework
and oversight mechanisms to ensure a fair and transparent allocation of state advertising at national, regional
and local level, including the public tender procedure’.
88
Media Pluralism Monitor (2025), pp. 29-30.
89
Article 144 stipulates the obligation to publish documents and information on spending of funds. Croatian
Government, written input, p. 21.
90
Croatian Journalists’ Association (2025), written input, pp. 14-15.
91
Croatian Government (2025a). While the Law on Media as amended in 2021 requires such funds to be
distributed based on a public call including relevant criteria, it does not specify these criteria or any
procedural safeguards. In this context, clear criteria, good practices and oversight measures are missing to
guarantee the effective and transparent functioning of the allocation procedure. 2024 Rule of Law Report,
Croatia, pp. 22-23.
92
Country visit Croatia, Ministry of Culture and Media and Croatian Newspapers Publishers Association.
93
Novilist.hr (2025).
14
Act94
. It allows searches by media and individuals and aggregates data from several
institutions while being available in an easily accessible manner95
.
While journalists primarily rely on the Law on Media to access public information,
authorities are not bound to reply within any deadline and there is no independent
oversight. As a result, investigative journalists are increasingly turning to the Law on the
Right of Access to Information, which provides a fixed deadline and enforcement by the
Information Commissioner. At the end of 2024, the Ministry of Justice, Administration, and
Digital Transformation established a working group to draft amendments to the Law on the
Right of Access to Information with the aim of improving the right to access to information,
finding the best solutions to improve the application of this Law and eliminate possible
shortcomings in its application. It is expected to conclude its work by the end of 2025.
Journalists reported that public authorities often delay responses, provide partial or
incomplete information, or invoke personal data protection as a frequent basis for refusal96
.
The new criminal offence for unauthorised disclosure of information from ongoing criminal
investigations continued to raise concerns among stakeholders for their possible impact on
journalistic sources97
.
Journalists still face a number of challenges although efforts to improve their safety are
ongoing. The Media Pluralism Monitor 2025 highlights the medium-high risk as for
journalistic profession, standards and protection98
. Regarding journalists’ safety, the
cooperation agreement signed in 2023 between the Ministry of the Interior and journalists’
organisations has reportedly improved relations between police and media workers,
particularly at the national level99
. As part of the agreement, journalists are invited to attend
presentations and trainings raising awareness of the safety of journalists100
. Moreover,
stakeholders point to the need to ensure awareness about the protocol to avoid inconsistent
application101
. Since the publication of the 2024 Rule of Law Report, the Council of Europe’s
Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists has registered four
new alerts relating to a lack of adequate protection under defamation and insult practice,
threats and harassment, and attacks on physical safety and integrity102
. The Mapping Media
Freedom monitoring report has flagged seventeen alerts, twelve of which concern verbal
94
Country visit Croatia, Ministry of Culture and Media.
95
Country visit Croatia, Ministry of Culture and Media. The Ministry described that this platform integrates
data from various internal and external systems, including the AEM system, the National Identification and
Authentication System (NIAS), and the Tax and Court Registries.
96
Croatian Journalists’ Association (2025), written input, p. 18; Media Pluralism Monitor (2025), p. 5.
97
Croatian Journalists’ Association (2024). As reported last year, amendments adopted in March 2024 to the
Criminal Code exempted journalists from liability for the offence for unauthorised disclosure of information
from ongoing criminal investigations. This new offence is in force since April 2024. Until February 2025,
the State Attorney’s Office initiated six investigations related to this offence. None of these investigations
were undertaken against journalists. Some stakeholders continue to raise concerns about the potential threats
to journalistic freedom from the perspective of protection of sources. Country visit Croatia, GONG and
Croatian Journalists’ Association. Some stakeholders have also explored how this law interacts with existing
media protections, such as those established by the Law on Media. Country visit Croatia, Croatian
Journalists' Association and the Ombudsperson’s Office.
98
Media Pluralism Monitor (2025), p. 14.
99
Country visit Croatia, Ministry of the Interior and Croatian Trade Union of Journalists.
100
AEM.hr (2025).
101
Croatian Journalists’ Association (2025), written input, p. 17.
102
Council of Europe, Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists (2025).
15
attacks, four relate to incidents of interferences, two relate to physical assaults and the
remaining two to legal incidents103
.
Work on the recommendation to address the issue of strategic lawsuits against public
participation targeting journalists (SLAPPs), is ongoing104. SLAPPs remain a serious
concern in Croatia. The Media Pluralism Monitor indicates the medium-high risk band in the
category of protection of freedom of expression105
. The Ministry of Justice, Public
Administration and Digital Transformation established a working group to begin discussions
on transposing the Anti-SLAPP Directive, bringing together representatives from the
Ministry of Culture and Media, judges, and legal scholars106
. The National Coordination
Committee, formed in March 2024, has made limited headway in supporting the National
Plan for Culture and Media (2023-2027) and journalist safety107
. A survey conducted by the
Croatian Journalists’ Association counted that as of May 2025 at least 696 active lawsuits
against journalists and media outlets were recorded108
, 125 of which were filed by influential
figures of public life, such as politicians and judges109
. Most cases relate to insult and slander,
criminalised under Criminal Code, and civil lawsuits with high damage claims110
continue to
exert financial pressure, especially on smaller media outlets. The Ministry of Justice, Public
Administration, and Digital Transformation reviewed civil damage lawsuits in 2024 to
estimate the number of potential SLAPPs. The analysis found that 25 civil cases and 7
criminal cases could be considered SLAPP. Of 25 civil cases, 10 were finalised, including 5
that had been ongoing since 2023111
. The National Action Plan includes measures to tackle
SLAPPs112
. In May 2025, the Working Group on SLAPPs and the National Coordination
Committee for the Implementation of Measures of the Action Plan113
presented an
educational brochure on combatting SLAPPs114
. Moreover, a series of joint trainings for
judges and journalists has been conducted in all regional centers of the Judicial Academy in
Croatia115
. Lower courts often fail to apply protections effectively whereas stakeholders have
also noticed the inconsistency in court practices116
. The educational material and trainings
prepared by the Working Group also serve as a tool for judges and lawyers to identify
103
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (2025).
104
The 2024 Rule of Law Report recommended Croatia to ‘[m]ake further efforts to address the issue of
strategic lawsuits against public participation targeted at journalists, including by reviewing the legal
provisions on defamation and encouraging wider use of procedural rules that allow dismissing groundless
lawsuits, taking into account the European standards on the protection of journalists’.
105
Media Pluralism Monitor (2025), p. 12.
106
Country visit Croatia, Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation.
107
Croatian Journalists’ Association (2025), written input, p. 20.
108
Croatian Journalists' Association (2025).
109
The final results of the joint study by the Centre for Democracy and Law Miko Tripalo confirmed that 40%
of court rulings against journalists between 2016 and 2023 bear SLAPP characteristics, with lawsuits often
lasting over a decade. Centre for Democracy and Law Miko Tripalo (2024), p. 6.
110
As estimated by HND, civil defamation lawsuits remain prevalent, making up 629 cases, which represent
90% of all legal actions. Some journalists raised concerns that defamation and insult remain criminal
offences, as they are often linked to SLAPP tactics. Media Pluralism Monitor (2025), p. 12.
111
Croatian Government (2025a).
112
Country visit Croatia, Ministry of Culture and Media.
113
National Coordination Committee for the Implementation of the Measures of the Action Plan for the
Development of Culture and Media and the Council of Europe and the OSCE Campaign for the Safety of
Journalists.
114
AEM.hr (2025a).
115
Ibid.
116
Country visit Croatia, Centre for Democracy and Law Miko Tripalo (2024), pp. 17-22.
16
SLAPPs early on and dismiss such lawsuits117
. Therefore, there has been some progress on
the recommendation to address the issue of SLAPPs targeted at journalists.
IV. OTHER INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES RELATED TO CHECKS AND BALANCES
Impact assessments and evaluations of laws expanded, and the portal for public
consultations was introduced to local and regional levels. Following the entry into force in
January 2024 of the new Law on Better Regulation Policy Instruments, the number of
regulatory impact assessments increased several-fold to 23 draft laws (21% of all 2024
proposals) with the goal that majority of laws proposed in 2025 would be assessed118
. As
regards the new instrument for the evaluation of regulations, three such evaluations of
adopted and implemented laws were carried out in 2024 (in the areas of State aid, for
research and development projects, pension adequacy and consolidation of land), with two
additional planned for 2025. In 2024, there were 896 consultations conducted through the e-
Consultations portal119
. The length of consultations further increased to 22 days on average
(21 in 2023). The share of received comments that remained unanswered decreased to 13%
(21% in 2023)120
. In November 2024, the e-Consultations portal was opened for use by local
and regional self-government units121
. As regards its 2023 recommendation to the
Government authorities to provide a greater number of reasoned replies to comments, the
People’s Ombudsperson found that 42% of comments either did not receive a reply or were
only acknowledged meaning that the consultations do not fulfil its purpose as they are not
allowing for proper participation, and therefore repeated its recommendation122
. As regards
the legislative process, the share of laws adopted by urgent procedure in Parliament has
increased to 34% in 2024, as compared to 26% in 2023123
.
Over half of the companies surveyed in Croatia express confidence in the effectiveness
of investment protection. 53% of companies are very or fairly confident that investments are
protected by law and courts124
. Business stakeholders raised the efficiency and quality of the
justice system and the quality and frequent changes in legislation as the main challenges for
investing in Croatia125
. As regards authorities relevant for economic operators, 32% perceive
the level of independence of the national competition authority (The Croatian Competition
Agency) as very or fairly good126
. A number of judicial mechanisms are in place at the level
of the High Administrative Court to ensure the implementation of their judgments, which
117
AEM.hr (2025a).
118
In 2023, only four draft laws underwent a regulatory impact assessment. Country visit Croatia,
Government’s Office for Legislation.
119
There were 822 consultations in 2023 and 1 028 in 2022. Country visit Croatia, Government’s Office for
Legislation.
120
In 2024, a total of 4 735 individuals and legal entities participated (6 441 in 2023). Altogether, 127
representatives of civil society organisation took part in public consultations (325 in 2023). Country visit
Croatia, Government’s Office for Legislation.
121
Croatian Government (2025), written input, p. 30.
122
People’s Ombudsperson (2025), pp. 16-17.
123
This was an increase compared to 2023, when Parliament adopted 26% of laws using the urgent procedure –
which was then the lowest in a decade (ranging from 31% in 2021 to 81% in 2014). Croatian Government
(2025), written input, p. 31.
124
Figure 54, 2025 EU Justice Scoreboard. In Croatia, 32% of companies perceive the frequent changes in
legislation or concerns about quality of law-making process and unpredictable/non-transparent
administrative conduct as the main reasons for the perceived lack of effectiveness of investment protection.
Figure 55, 2025 EU Justice Scoreboard.
125
Country visit Croatia, AmCham.
126
Figure 60, 2025 EU Justice Scoreboard.
17
include the possibility to substitute the annulled administrative act. However, these
mechanisms do not include disciplinary actions against the responsible officials, or the
possibility to award direct or consequential damages or compensation127
.
On 1 January 2025, Croatia had 30 leading judgments of the European Court of
Human Rights pending implementation, an increase of 3 compared to the previous
year128. At that time, Croatia’s rate of leading judgments from the past 10 years that had been
implemented was at 68% (compared to 72% in 2024; 32% remained pending), and the
average time that the judgments had been pending implementation was 2 years and 3 months
(compared to 3 years and 4 months in 2024)129
. The oldest leading judgment, pending
implementation for 10 years, concerns violations of the applicants’ right to the peaceful
enjoyment of their property between 1997 and 2015 on account of statutory limitations on the
use of private flats by landlords130
. As regards the respect of payment deadlines, on 31
December 2024 there were 12 cases in total awaiting confirmation of payments (compared to
2 in 2023)131
. On 16 June 2025, the number of leading judgments pending implementation
had increased to 36132
.
Significant progress was made on the recommendation to improve follow-up to the
People’s Ombudsperson’s recommendations and on access to information133. The Public
Ombudsperson’s Office fulfils the role of the National Human Rights Institution and is
accredited with A-status134
. In autumn 2024, the Government’s Office for Human Rights and
Minority Rights collected information from all relevant authorities about the implementation
of the recommendations from the Ombudsperson’s report for 2023. According to the
Government, the analysis has shown that 73.3% of recommendations issued in 2023 have
been implemented, are being implemented, or are in the implementation plan (60.6% of those
issued in 2022 were implemented in 2023)135
. In 2024, according to the Ombudsperson, the
implementation of recommendations further improved, as around 61% of all
recommendations given in 2023 have either been already implemented or are in the process
of being implemented (44% of those issued in 2022 were implemented in 2023)136
. As
regards access to information, the Ombudsperson’s Office reported an improvement as they
received the requested information during both field visits to facilities with irregular
migrants, which once included access to the Police ICT system137
. Therefore, significant
127
Figure 49, 2025 EU Justice Scoreboard. The data presented reflect exclusively the mechanisms in place at
the level of the highest administrative jurisdictions; the same or other mechanisms may be in place at lower
instance administrative courts.
128
For an explanation of the supervision process, see the website of the Council of Europe.
129
All figures calculated by the European Implementation Network (EIN) and based on the number of cases
that are considered pending at the annual cut-off date of 1 January 2025. EIN (2025), written input, p. 2.
130
Judgment of the ECtHR, 12027/10, Statileo v. Croatia, pending implementation since 2014.
131
Council of Europe (2025), p. 156.
132
Data according to the online database of the Council of Europe (HUDOC).
133
The 2024 Rule of Law Report recommended Croatia to ‘further improve the follow-up to recommendations
and ensure a more systematic response to information requests of the Ombudsperson’.
134
According to the Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions (The Paris Principles).
135
Country visit Croatia, Government’s Office for Human Rights and Minority Rights, and Croatian
Government (2025a). In agreement with Ombudsperson’s Office, authorities published an annex of the
Government’s annual implementation report containing descriptive responses on recommendation
implementation.
136
People’s Ombudsperson (2025), p. 333.
137
In 2024, Ombudsperson’s Office conducted five such field visits. Ombudsperson’s Office also requested
information about treatment in 20 individual cases of migrants, which included, in 12 cases, a request for
18
progress was made on the recommendation regarding Ombudsperson’s recommendation and
access to information.
The shift toward multiannual funding of civil society organisations continued, while the
new National Plan for Creating an Enabling Environment remains under preparation.
The civic space in Croatia is considered to be narrowed138
. As reported last year, the Working
Group developing the National Plan for Creating an Enabling Environment had technically
completed the draft for internal governmental consultation139
. The National Plan was still in
development140
. CSOs see the need for the National Plan to be adopted to address issues
relating to the financing framework, access and participation in decision-making processes,
and institutional framework for civil society141
. In 2024, the shift from short-term support
towards multiannual systematic and continuous financing continued, and this expected to be
sustained into 2025142
. However, some civil society organisations consider the administrative
burden in applying for funds to be a challenge143
.
copies of the Police case files. Country visit Croatia, Ministry of the Interior. Police provided information in
all these requests. Country visit Croatia, People’s Ombudsperson’s Office.
138
Rating given by Civicus, Croatia; ratings are on a five-category scale defined as: open, narrowed, obstructed,
repressed and closed.
139
2024 Rule of law Report, Croatia, p. 40.
140
Country visit Croatia, Government’s Office for Cooperation with the NGOs
141
Civil Liberties Union for Europe (2025), p. 219.
142
Country visit Croatia, Government’s Office for Cooperation with the NGOs. According to the data of the
National Foundation for Civil Society Development, in 2024, a total of 305 financial supports were provided
for 18 program areas, and in 2025, 409 financial supports is planned to be provided for a total of 20 areas.
The value of support, which was around EUR 3 million in 2024, would increase to around EUR 3.5 million
for 2025.
143
Some civil society pointed out that funding is primarily focused on supporting civil society organisations
that provide social services, rather than organisations contributing to better public policy management,
monitoring reforms in the rule of law, combating corruption, and enhancing transparency. Civil Liberties
Union for Europe (2025), and country visit Croatia, The Human Rights House Zagreb and Centre for
Democracy and Law Miko Tripalo with contributions from Croatian Journalist Association, Centre for Peace
Studies, Rainbow Families Croatia, Zagreb Pride, Udruga RODA, Youth Initiative for Human Rights –
Croatia, GONG, Green Action, DKolektiv, Center for peace, non-violence and human rights and Croatian
Platform for International Citizen Solidarity-CROSOL.
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Annex I: List of sources in alphabetical order*
* The list of contributions received in the context of the consultation for the 2025 Rule of Law report
can be found at https://commission.europa.eu/publications/2025-rule-law-report-targeted-
stakeholder-consultation_en.
AEM.hr (2025), Journalists and other media workers of Nova TV Presented with protocols for the
Protection of Security, 24 March 2025 https://www.aem.hr/blog/2025/03/24/protokoli-o-zastiti-
sigurnosti-novinara-i-drugih-medijskih-djelatnika-predstavljeni-na-hrt-u/?lang=en.
AEM.hr (2025a), Educational brochure presented to combat strategic lawsuits directed against public
action (SLAPP lawsuits), 9 May 2025 https://www.aem.hr/blog/2025/05/09/predstavljena-edukativna-
brosura-radi-suzbijanja-strateskih-tuzbi-usmjerenih-protiv-javnog-djelovanja-slapp-tuzbi-2/.
Article 19 (2024), Croatia: Brutal assault on Dario Topić must be punished, 11 December 2024
https://www.article19.org/resources/croatia-brutal-assault-on-dario-topic-must-be-punished/.
Centre for Democracy and Law Mike Tripalo (2024), Strategic lawsuits against public participation
(SLAPP) in the Republic of Croatia, 30 September 2024 https://tripalo.hr/strateske-tuzbe-protiv-
javne-participacije-slapp-u-republici-hrvatskoj/.
Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (2025), Media Pluralism Monitor 2025, Country
report for Croatia, https://cmpf.eui.eu/projects/media-pluralism-monitor/.
Civil Liberties Union for Europe (2025), Rule of Law Report, Croatia,
https://www.liberties.eu/f/pdfupg.
Commission for the Resolution of Conflict of Interest (2025), Work Plan of the Commission for 2025,
17 March 2025
https://www.sukobinteresa.hr/sites/default/files/dokumenti_clanaka/plan_rada_za_2025.g_.pdf.
Council of Europe, Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists (2025),
https://fom.coe.int/en/accueil
Croatian Government (2024), Report for 2023 on the implementation of the Action Plan for the period
from 2022 to 2024 accompanying the Strategy for the prevention of Corruption for 2021-2030,
https://mpudt.gov.hr/istaknute-teme/borba-protiv-korupcije/strateski-dokumenti-i-prioritetna-
podrucja/izvjesca-o-provedbi-dokumenata/21524.
Croatian Government (2025), Action Plan for the period from 2025 to 2027 accompanying the
Strategy for the prevention of Corruption for 2021-2030, 29 May 2025
https://mpudt.gov.hr/UserDocsImages//dokumenti/Antikorupcija//Akcijski%20plan%20za%20razdobl
je%20od%202025.%20do%202027.%20uz%20Strategiju%20sprje%C4%8Davanja%20korupcije%2
0za%20razdoblje%20od%202021.%20do%202030.%20godine%20(1).pdf .
Croatian Journalists' Association (2025), CJA: At least 696 active lawsuits worth 3.1 million euro, 2
May 2025 https://www.hnd.hr/eng/cja-at-least-696-active-lawsuits-worth-3-1-million-euros.
Croatian Journalists’ Association (2024), Open letter to citizens about the dangers of amendments to
the Criminal Code, 11 March 2024 https://www.hnd.hr/eng/open-letter-from-cja-to-citizens-about-
the-dangers-of-amendments-to-the-criminal-code.
Directorate-General for Communication (2025), Flash Eurobarometer 557 on Businesses’ attitudes
towards corruption in the EU.
20
Directorate-General for Communication (2025), Special Eurobarometer 561 on Citizens’ attitudes
towards corruption in the EU.
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (2025), Media Freedom Rapid Response – Croatia,
https://cmpf.eui.eu/projects/media-pluralism-monitor/.
European Commission (2025), 2024 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation
in Croatia.
European Public Prosecutor’s Office (2024a), EPPO raises concerns over rule of law violations in
Croatia following conflict of competence decision, 21 November 2025
https://www.eppo.europa.eu/en/media/news/eppo-raises-concerns-over-rule-law-violations-croatia-
following-conflict-competence.
European Public Prosecutor’s Office (2024b), Croatia: EPPO starts investigation against Minister of
Health and seven others over medical robotics procurement, 15 November 2024
https://www.eppo.europa.eu/en/media/news/croatia-eppo-starts-investigation-against-minister-health-
and-seven-others-over-medical.
European Public Prosecutor’s Office (2025), Contribution from the European Public Prosecutor’s
Office for the 2025 Rule of Law Report.
European Public Prosecutor’s Office (2025a), Annual Report 2024, 3 March 2025
bhttps://www.eppo.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2025-
03/EPPO%20Annual%20Report%202024_0.pdf.
Judgment of the Constitutional Court, U-I-2215/2022, 7 February 2023.
Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Joined Cases C-554/21 Hann-Invest, C-
622/21 Mineral-Sekuline and C-727/21 Udruga Khl Medvešcak Zagreb, 11 July 2024
https://curia.europa.eu/juris/documents.jsf?num=C-554/21.
Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation (2025), ‘Start a change –
report corruption’ information and educational campaign, https://mpudt.gov.hr/pokreni-promjenu-
prijavi-korupciju/28346?lang=en.
Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation (2025a), Written input from the
Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation for the 2025 Rule of Law
Report.
Novilist.hr (2025), From next week, all data on media owners and sources of their financing will be
publicly available, 26 April 2025 https://www.novilist.hr/novosti/hrvatska/od-iduceg-tjedna-bit-ce-
javno-dostupni-svi-podaci-o-vlasnicima-medija-i-izvorima-njihovog-financiranja/?meta_refresh=true.
OECD (2024), Implementing the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, Phase 2 Report on Croatia, 19
December 2024 https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-anti-bribery-convention-phase-2-report-
on-croatia_675b0561-en.html.
State Attorney’s Office (2024), Decision of the State Attorney General of the Republic of Croatia, 19
November 2024 https://dorh.hr/hr/priopcenja/drzavno-odvjetnistvo-republike-hrvatske-odluka.
State Commission for the Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures (2025), Written input from
the State Commission for the Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures for the 2025 Rule of Law
Report.
21
Transparency International (2025), Corruption Perceptions Index 2024.
Večernji list (2025), Minister Irena Hrstić at the congress of the Association of Employers in
Healthcare: 'We made a mistake, we must now bring primary health care back into focus', 23 May
2025 https://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/ministrica-irena-hrstic-na-kongresu-udruge-poslodavaca-u-
zdravstvu-pogrijesili-smo-primarnu-zdravstvenu-zastitu-sada-moramo-vratiti-u-fokus-1863643.
22
Annex II: Country visit to Croatia
The Commission services held virtual meetings in February 2025 with:
• Agency for Electronic Media
• American Chamber of Commerce - Croatia
• Association of Judges (Judge Damir Kontrec)
• Centre for Democracy and Law Miko Tripalo
• Centre for Peace Studies
• Commission for the Resolution of Conflicts of Interest
• Croatian Journalists' Association
• Croatian Newspaper Publishers' Association
• Crosol - Croatian Platform for International Citizen Solidarity
• GONG
• Government’s Legislation Office
• Government’s Office for Cooperation with NGOs
• Government’s Office for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities
• HRT – Croatian Radio and Television (Director General Robert Šveb)
• Human Rights House
• Ministry of Culture and Media
• Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation
• Ministry of the Interior
• Office of the Information Commissioner
• Office of the People’s Ombudsperson
• PNUSKOK - specialised anti-corruption police
• State Attorney’s Council
• State Attorney’s Office (including State Attorney General and USKOK-specialised
anti-corruption prosecution)
• State Audit Office
• State Commission for Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures
• State Judicial Council
• Supreme Court (Vice-President Gordana Jalšovečki and judge Damir Kontrec)
• Trade Union of Croatian Journalists
* The Commission also met the following organisations in a number of horizontal meetings:
• Amnesty International
• Araminta
• Civil Liberties Union for Europe
• Civil Society Europe
• European Civic Forum
• European Partnership for Democracy
• European Youth Forum,
• International Commission of Jurists
• International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
23
• JEF Europe
• Philea – Philanthropy Europe Association.
• Transparency International