Croatian and EC Competition Law: State and Problems of the Adjustment Process

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to introduce and briefly analyse Croatian competition law in the light of EC competition law standards. The analysis will be kept at a general level, essentially offering an overview of Croatia's legislative framework in the field of competition law, including the Competition Law that was in force from 1995 until October 2003 and the new Competition Law that was enacted on 21 July 2003 and entered into force on 1 October 2003. An independent Croatian competition authority, the Agency for the Protection of Market Competition, was created in 1995 and began its work in 1997. The Agency is directly responsible to the Croatian Parliament. In addition, this article analyses the competition provisions of the EC-Croatia Stabilisation and Association Agreement, which was signed in October 2001 and is awaiting ratification by the EU Member States. An Interim Agreement including a number of competition rules has been in force since March 2002. In February 2003, Croatia applied for EU membership. The Commission is currently in the process of drafting its opinion on the application.