EXECUTIVE MBA PROGRAMME IN AGRIBUSINESS AND COMMERCE FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE, UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB FINAL THESIS PAPER

Transcription

1 EXECUTIVE MBA PROGRAMME IN AGRIBUSINESS AND COMMERCE FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE, UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB FINAL THESIS PAPER UTILIZATION OF IPA-RD PROGRAMME IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA STUDENT: JOSIP VRBANEK mag.ing.agr. MENTOR: JOSIP JURAČAK, doc.dr.sc. Zagreb, March 2016 Revision January

2 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS A ARPA - Agency for the Audit of European Union Programme Implementation System ASS - Agricultural Advisory Service AS - Advisory Service C CAACP - Croatian Agricultural Acquis Cohesion Project CAA - Croatian Agricultural Agency CAO - Competent Accrediting Officer CASME - Croatian Agency for SME CAA - Croatian Agriculture Agency CBRD - Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development CCA - Croatian Chamber of Agriculture CCE - Croatian Chamber of Economy CCTC - Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts CFCA - Central Finance and Contracting Agency D DG AGRI - European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development E EC - European Commission ENRD - European Network for Rural Development EU - European Union I IPA - Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance IPARD - Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance - Rural Development L LAG - Local Action Group LEADER - Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de l Economie Rurale - 1 -

3 M MoA - Ministry of Agriculture MA - Managing Authority MC - Monitoring Committee MCPP - Ministry of construction and physical planning MENP - Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection MFIN - Ministry of Finance MRDEUF - Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds MIFF - Multi-Annual Indicative Financial Framework MIPD - Multi Annual Indicative Planning Document N NAO - National Authorizing Officer NF - National Fund O OG - Official Gazette P PAAFRD - Paying Agency for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development PRAG - Practical Guide to EC External Aid Contract Procedure R RC - Republic of Croatia RDP Rural Development Programme - 2 -

4 SUMMARY IPA-RD is the 5th component of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance which is a preaccession program of the European Union established in The Agriculture and Rural Development Plan - IPARD Programme defines the following three priorities for utilization of the component funds: 1. Improving market efficiency and implementation of Community standards 2. Preparatory actions for implementation of the agri-environmental measures and local rural development strategies 3. Development of rural economy The implementation of IPARD Programme started in 2010 and in-depth analyses of its utilisation are missing. Official annual reports on the implementation are available at the managing authority web site, but for better insight additional research is needed. Main goal of this research is to assess the level of success in the IPAR Programme implementation for the period taking into consideration available measures, geographical distribution, size and type of beneficiaries. In addition, available data was used to determine the most important obstacles in the programme implementation. This research is based mainly on the Annual Report on Implementation of the IPARD Programme in the Republic of Croatia from 2010 to 2014 as approved by the IPARD Monitoring Committee and EC. Other sources of information are from the Paying Agency for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development (PAAFRD), and from available published materials. In addition, the author s private information base and experience in project management consulting work gathered since 2011 is used. We consider that this thesis is contributing to knowledge base about IPARD Programme and about EU funds available in Croatia and candidate countries in general. The results can also help to improve implementation of similar programmes in future since it indicates main problems affecting the absorption of the programme funds. This work can be also used in connection with utilisation of the EAFRD which started in Croatia in Keywords: IPARD, PAAFRD, Croatia, support, EU funds, Rural Development - 3 -

5 CONTENT: 1. INTRODUCTION OBJECTIVE MATERIAL AND METHODS OF RESEARCH LITERATURE REVIEW RESEARCH AND RESULTS GENERAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION IN CROATIA Agricultural sector Differences in EU and Croatian economy THE HISTORY OF EU FUNDS IN CROATIA IPARD PROGRAM IPARD MEASURES Measure Measure Measure Measure Measure Amendments and modifications of IPARD Programme THE DATA SOURCES Total IPARD allocation for period Progress in implementation of IPARD measures 101 and Progress in implementation of IPARD Measures 201 and Progress in implementation of IPARD measures 301 and Progress in implementation of IPARD program Measure Results of all IPARD measures in Croatia Average, maximum and minimum paid support Geographical distribution of IPARD program Type and size of beneficiary PROBLEMS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF IPARD EX-POST EVALUATION IPARD PROGRAMME COCLUSIONS REFERENCES

6 LIST OF TABLES: Table 1 - Prorities, objectives and measures of the IPARD programme in the RC Table 2 - Difference between Croatian and EU economy Table 3 Total IPARD allocation for Croatia for period in EUR Table 4 First Call for IPARD measures 101 and Table 5 Second Call for IPARD measure 101 and Table 6 Third Call for IPARD measure 101 and Table 7 Fourth Call for IPARD measure 101 and Table 8 Fifth Call for IPARD measure 101 and Table 9 Sixth Call for IPARD measure 101 and Table 10 Seventh Call for IPARD measure 101 and Table 11 Eight Call for IPARD measure 101 and Table 12 Ninth Call for IPARD measure 101 and Table 13 Tenth Call for IPARD measure 101 and Table 14 - All IPARD calls for measure 101 and Table 15 - First call for IPARD measures Table 16 - Second call for IPARD measure Table 17 - First call for IPARD measure Table 18 - Second call for IPARD measure Table 19 - Third Call for IPARD measure Table 20 - Results of all calls for IPARD measure Table 21 - First Call for IPARD measure Table 22 - Second Call for IPARD measure Table 23 - Third Call for IPARD measure Table 24 - Fourth Call for IPARD measure Table 25 - All Calls for IPARD measure Table 26 - Result of IPARD measure Table 27 - Total results of all IPARD measures in Croatia till 02/02/ Table 28 - Paid support per year Table 29 - All contracted and paid support throughout Croatian Counties Table 30 - All beneficiaries of IPARD regarding private/public sector Table 31 - Financing IPARD projects - example

7 LIST OF GRAPHS: Graph 1 - Applied, contracted and realized projects for measures 101 and Graph 2 - Percentage of contracted and realized projects Graph 3 - Number of contracted projects per measure Graph 4 - Applied, contacted and realized support Graph 5 - Measure representation share per sector and year Graph 6 - Measure representation share per sector and year Graph 7 - Paid support for Measure Graph 8 - Measure state of applications per sector Graph 9 - Measure state of applications per sector Graph 10 Percentage of total paid support versus total available IPARD funds Graph 11 - Contracted projects through all IPARD measures Graph 12 - Number of applications and contracted support Graph 13 - Average support per project in HRK Graph 14 - Percentage of realized project in number and value Graph 15 - Realized projects through the measures Graph 16 - Number of contracted projects per county Graph 17 - Contracted investment per county Graph 18 - Contracted support per county Graph 19 - Number of realized projects per county Graph 20 - Paid support per county Graph 21 - Average paid support per project Graph 22 - Regional statistic of IPARD projects

8 1. INTRODUCTION IPARD is a pre-accession program of the European Union for the period It is an integral part of IPA (Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance), i.e. - its 5th component - the Rural Development. The main goal of IPARD program is to improve the agricultural sector through competitiveness of agricultural products. The IPARD program has three priority axes: Priority Axis 1 - Improving market efficiency and implementing Community standards Priority Axis 2 - Preparatory actions for implementation of the agrienvironmental measures and LEADER (a program that enables creation and cofinancing of projects that include various motives/subjects of interest to the people living in certain regions or micro-regions, regardless of the existing administrative boundaries) Priority Axis 3 - Development of rural economy Those three priorities present the backbone of the Croatian European future since the measures are implemented almost identically through the EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) 1. This was a unique opportunity for the Republic of Croatia to prepare itself of a specific approach to financing of agriculture and rural development. The beneficiaries of IPARD program are (depending of a measure) farmers/ family farms within the payers of VAT system, craftsmen, small businesses or companies no limitations in that sense exist. IPARD Programme 2 had been prepared by the Committee for Preparation of the Agriculture and Rural Development Plan The Committee had been established on 7 April Committee consisted of the members of the MAFRD, employees of the other ministries and representatives of all relevant economic, social and ecological partners. After preparation of sector analyses, specific needs of respective sectors have been established and measures of IPARD Programme had been selected accordingly. 1 Rural Development Programme of the Republic of Croatia for the Period , (Ministry of Agriculture, 2016) 2 IPARD Programme Agriculture and Rural Development Plan (Republic of Croatia, Ministry of Agriculture Zagreb, September 2013.) - 7 -

9 Table 1 - Prorities, objectives and measures of the IPARD programme in the RC PRIORITY AXIS SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE MEASURE 1. Improving market efficiency and implementation of Community standards Strengthening and improvement of the agricultural production and market capacity 101 Investments in agricultural holdings to restructure and to upgrade to Community standards 103 Investments in the processing and marketing of agriculture and fishery products to restructure those activities and to upgrade them to Community standards 2. Preparatory actions for implementation of the Agrienvironmental measures and local rural development strategies 3. Development of the rural economy Strengthening and improvement of the capacity for implementation of obligatory pilot projects in Agri environment and the LEADER based approach Creating better living conditions in rural areas by improving rural infrastructures and promoting business activities. 201 Actions to improve the environment and the countryside 202 Preparation and implementation of local rural development strategies 301 Improvement and development of rural infrastructure 302 Diversification and development of rural economic activities Source: Croatian Ministry of Agriculture, IPARD programme, 2014 IPARD Programme is implemented within the whole territory of the Republic of Croatia, unless the prescribed criteria of respective measures do not limit its implementation. Legal basis IPARD Programme had been given a positive opinion on 19 December 2007 from the Committee for Rural Development in Brussels and EC adopted IPARD Programme on 25 February Pursuant to the Multi-Annual Indicative Financial Framework (MIFF) , funds for all beneficiary countries were allocated, and that for the RC as well for all IPA components, within the period on the annual level. The purpose of the Multi-Annual Indicative Planning Document (MIPD) is to establish EU's priorities in assisting the RC within the programme period The Government of the Republic of Croatia, on behalf of the RC, has concluded agreements with the EC on behalf of the EU, which are required for the implementation of the IPARD Programme, as follows: 3 1. Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) Multi-annual Indicative Planning Document (MIPD) , Croatia (2015) - 8 -

10 The Framework Agreement between the Government of the RC and the Commission of the European Communities on the Rules of Co-operation concerning EC Financial Assistance to the RC in the Framework of the Implementation of Assistance under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) was signed on 27 August The Agreement between the Government of the RC and the Commission of the European Communities on the Rules of Co-operation Concerning EC Financial Assistance to the RC and the Implementation of Assistance under Component V (IPARD) of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA), i.e. Sectoral Agreement, was concluded on 13 October The Sectoral agreement was amended in The Multi-Annual Financing Agreement between the Commission of European Communities on behalf of the European Community and the Government of the RC was signed on 24 July 2009 and it allocated funds for 2007, 2008, 2009 and The Agreement between the European Commission and the Government of the Republic of Croatia amending the Multi-Annual Financing Agreement was signed on 10 October 2011 and it allocated funds for 2011, and entered into force on 31 July The IPARD Programme allows for creating of commitments to the date of implementation of the new Programme for Rural Development which the RC will use once it becomes a member of the EU. National legal frameworks for the implementation of the IPARD Programme in the RC are Ordinances on the implementation of respective measures. The Republic of Croatia signed the accession treaty with EU members in Brussels on 9 December 2011 and had an accession status. The Managing Authority of the IPARD Programme in RC is Directorate for Rural Development, EU and International Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture according the Regulation on the scope and contents of responsibilities and the authority of bodies responsible for managing the instrument for pre-accession assistance (OG 29/12). 2. OBJECTIVE The implementation of IPARD Programme started in 2010 and in-depth analyses of its utilization are missing. Official annual 4 reports on the implementation are available at the Managing Authority web site, but for better insight additional research is needed. Main objectives of the research are to give clear and up to date information of actual usage of IPARD funds presented in absolute and percentage. Also objective is to give insight of utilization of IPARD through its 7 measures, geographical distribution, size and type of beneficiaries. The goal is to find out what was maximum, minimum and average paid subside, 4 Annual Report on Implementation of the IPARD Programme in the Republic of Croatia 2010, Zagreb, 2011 Annual Report on Implementation of the IPARD Programme in the Republic of Croatia 2011, Zagreb, 2012 Annual Report on Implementation of the IPARD Programme in the Republic of Croatia 2012, Zagreb, 2013 Annual Report on Implementation of the IPARD Programme in the Republic of Croatia 2013, Zagreb, 2014 Annual Report on Implementation of the IPARD Programme in the Republic of Croatia 2014, Zagreb,

11 which measure was most popular, what is percentage of successful realization of IPARD projects and who were most frequent users of IPARD program. In addition, available data will be used to determine the most important obstacles in the programme implementation as well as perceived impacts of the programme on beneficiaries business. This research will be based mainly on the Annual Report on Implementation of the IPARD Programme in the Republic of Croatia from 2010 to 2013 as approved by the IPARD Monitoring Committee and EC. Other sources of information will be from the Paying Agency for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, and from available published materials. In addition, the author s private information base and experience in project management consulting work gathered since 2011 will be used. It is expected that this thesis will contribute to knowledge base about IPARD Programme and about EU funds available in Croatia and candidate countries in general. The results will also help to improve implementation of similar programmes in future since it will indicate main problems affecting the absorption of the programme funds. This work can be also used in connection with utilization of the EAFRD which will start in Croatia in

12 3. MATERIAL AND METHODS OF RESEARCH Materials for this research is divided in two sections: 1. Primary source that was created gathering secondary sources. Main key of this source is to find what are real results of implementation of IPARD measures in Croatia. In specific what is overall number of contracted projects, total investment of applied and contracted projects and what is contracted and payed support through the measures. In addition in this project will be used own experience and information collected during author s professional work, and research studies of other authors such as Utilization of pre-accession funds European Union in Croatia (P.Jakovac and B. Maljković 2009.), IPARD yesterday/today/tomorrow (HMRR, 2013), and official reports from Croatian chamber of commerce. 2. Secondary source are publications on official internet pages of Ministry of Agriculture ( and Croatian paying agency ( These internet pages have basic information about IPARD program and main materials will be Official annual reports on the implementation of IPARD program and view of IPARD users (contracted projects and paid support). This is also basics for all annual reports for national and EU official bodies. Methods of research are: 1. Gathering all official record on implementation of IPARD support mainly from publication and annual report on IPARD program 2. Extrication of all important information about applied projects. Main focus is on number of applied projects through measures, number of realized projects and not realized projects, total investment per segment and finally approved and paid support per project. Second phase is to present this result regionally trough Croatian counties. 3. Organization of all gathered important information in tabular form 4. Calculating percentage of applied, approved and realized projects with calculation of total investment and support. 5. Analysis of calculated data and creation of graphical and tabular presentation of data 6. Comparison of paid support with total available support and making conclusion on IPARD program in Croatia

13 4. LITERATURE REVIEW There is many information about IPARD program in Croatia, especially presentations and official data regarding IPARD measures (rules for call and opportunities for investor s) and contracted and realized projects. There was also many workshops on IPARD topic from Ministry of Agriculture, Paying agency and other association s (Croatian chamber of commerce, Croatian chamber of agriculture and Agricultural advisory services). Best information about IPARD one can get from official IPARD web pages: From this web pages one can get all information about IPARD users review (all contracted projects, paid support, regional dispersion of users), about all IPARD call s and tender documentation. These information are very detailed but not structured and consistent. There is no overview of all IPARD users and statistic reports such as average support per project, total paid support and finally utilized IPARD support. Other information on this topic one can get from other research that are usually financed by EU organization or were obligatory for Croatian government as evaluation process of IPARD measures. Such documents are: Annual report on the implementation of the IPARD programme in the republic of Croatia 2014, June European Court of Auditors, Special Report No 14/2011, Has EU assistance improved Croatia's capacity to manage post-accession-funding?, 2011 Slaven Aljinović, Ex-post Evaluation of the SAPARD, Programme in the Republic of Croatia ( ), 2011 Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) Multi-annual Indicative Planning Document (MIPD) , Rural Development in the EU, Statistical and Economic Information, Report Rural Development in the EU, Statistical and Economic Information, Report 2013 (European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, December 2013)

14 5. RESEARCH AND RESULTS 5.1. GENERAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION IN CROATIA According to the population census from the year 2011, 4,284,889 inhabitants live in the Republic of Croatia out of which 15.2% is younger than 14 years, 67.1% between 15 and 64 years and 17.7% is older than 65 years. The average age is 41.7 years; 43.4 years in woman population, 39.9 years in case of man. According to data s from 2011, active population in the Republic of Croatia makes 45.6% from the total number of working-age population. 1,411,000 persons were employed out of which 651,000, i.e. 46% woman. In the year 2011, drop of employed of 1.5 % in relation to previous year was recorded while there was 31,000 employed insured farmers. The average monthly net salary per employee in the Republic of Croatia in 2011 was HRK 5,441. Croatian economy has recorded slowdown of economic activity and negative rate of change of gross domestic product (GDP). GDP in 2010 was billion HRK (market prices-current) and was lower in comparison to the year 2009 for 1.4%. GDP was billion HRK in 2011 (market prices-current) and was no increase in comparison to the year 2010, i.e. the zero growth rate. Gross domestic product per inhabitant was EUR 10,158 in 2010, i.e. EUR 10,205 in According to data s from the year 2011, recession left trace also in foreign trade balance. Value of import in total commodity exchange of the Republic of Croatia is billion EUR while value of export is billion EUR 9.58 in total commodity exchange. Higher value of export then import resulted with a deficit of billion EUR 6.7. Coverage of import with export was 58.9%. In the sector of agriculture, forestry and fishery, growth of import in 2011, in comparison to 2010, is recorded with billion EUR in 2010 to billion EUR 467,84 in At the same time, export is also increased from billion EUR in 2010 to billion EUR in In 2011 in relation to the 2010 in sector of agriculture, forestry and fishery the value of import was increased for 7%, while the value of export was increased for 13% Agricultural sector Croatia is a land of rich and high quality resources - parcels of land of high fertility, climate advantages and plenty of water resources. Basic advantages of Croatian agriculture are three different geographic and climate regions: plains region in the north under the influence of the continental climate, coastal region in the south under the influence of the Mediterranean climate and the mountain region in the central part of Croatia. Various types of climate, relief and soil allows production of a wide range of agricultural products, from farm and industrial crops to grapes, as well as continental and Mediterranean fruits and vegetables

15 By the end of 2012 there were agricultural holdings entered into the Register of Agricultural Holdings which owned 1,064,740 ha of agricultural land. Pursuant to the data from the Register, the average size of all holdings amounted to 5.53 ha. The greatest number of holdings, i.e. 94,775 holdings (representing 49.25% of the total number of holdings from the Register), own less than 3 ha of agricultural parcels of land, whereas 63,991 holdings (representing 33.25% of the total number of holdings from the Register) own 3 to 20 ha of agricultural parcels of land. Number of holdings which do not own any parcels of land is significant, i.e. 26,102 of holdings do not own agricultural land (representing 13.56% of the total number of holdings). As far as utilisation of agricultural land according LPIS (Land Parcel Identification System), arable land is the most represented with an area of 805,695 ha and representing 79.51%, grasslands and pastures represent 139,256 ha, i.e % of total areas in the LPIS, whereas permanent plantations, vineyards, orchards and olive groves together represent 59,304 ha, i.e. 5.85% of the total areas in the LPIS. Taking into consideration the average size of agricultural holdings as per land ownership, the largest holdings are located in the counties of the Central and Eastern part of Croatia, where most of only 4% of agricultural holdings owning parcels larger than 20 ha are located; at the same time, this category of holdings owns almost 50% of total area. The other share of parcels is comminute and owned by 158,766 other smaller holdings from the Register, whose size and structure of the parcels represents a limitation for production intensification. The areas of organic production have significantly increased and the number of hectares under arable crops, orchards and olive groves has grown significantly. Until 31 December 2012, 1,757 producers were registered in the Register of Organic Producers which is 17.6% more than the previous year. The greatest share of total agricultural areas is located in Slavonia. The mountain region of Central Croatia is greatly represented in the structure of the agricultural area with grasslands and pastures, whereas vineyards, olive groves and orchards to some extent represent a significantly larger share in the total surface of coastal area and islands than in other agricultural regions. In comparison with EU-27 countries, less agricultural area per holding is utilised in Croatia. Dual structure of ownership is characteristic for agricultural parcels in the RC, which is as follows: agricultural land owned by the state and agricultural land owned by private persons. Croatia is relatively rich in agricultural areas, but high potentials of grasslands and pastures are poorly utilised, even though they are a good basis for renewal and increase in livestock fund and more productive utilisation of land in the direction of reducing of import of milk, cattle and beef and especially of increased import of pigs and pork. Due to war events, a significant destruction of production facilities and decrease in livestock fund occurred in Croatia, as well as a significant decrease in livestock production. At the end of 2011 there were 446,000 cows, 1,233,000 pigs, 19,000 horses, 639,000 sheep, 70,000 goats, billy goats and goatlings, as well as 9,523,000 poultry, 308,000 bee hives and the present state has not yet reached the pre-war levels and is still way lower than the needs of the population, especially below the available production resources

16 As far as the organization form of business in 2012 is concerned, most holdings were operated as family agricultural holdings, i.e. as much as 185,779 holdings (96.54%). 3,240 crafts (1.68%) were entered into the Register as other organization forms, 2,442 companies (1.25% of holdings), 657 cooperatives (0.34% of holdings) and 196 (0.1%) other organization forms of agricultural holdings. A rather large number of small family holdings points to a low level of organization of the producers, which weakens their influence on the market. About one half of the total number of agricultural holdings refers to commercial holdings, whereas the other half refers to agricultural producers with lower production volumes, producing for their own needs and partially for sales on the market. Despite significant production capacities, the RC is still a net importer of most agricultural products, the most important of which are livestock, meat and meat products, as well as fruits and vegetables. Self-sufficiency or surplus has been reached in the case of wheat, which was grown on 149,797 ha in 2011 and amounted to 782,499 tons, as well as in case of corn, grown on 305,130 ha and production of 1,733,664 tons, and production of poultry meat, eggs, honey, wine and mandarins. Decrease and stagnation at small comminuted agricultural areas and very high level of food import is a sign that investments are required for further restructuring within the Croatian agricultural sector. Aligning of the national agricultural policy with that of the EU aims at an increase of production and improvement of economic results within the agricultural sector. Furthermore, an increase in activities and orientation toward profitable production and high-quality products under a higher level of diversification and organization can contribute to a preservation of production, tradition and culture, as well as survival of small holdings as keepers of rural space Differences in EU and Croatian economy On 1 July 2013, Croatia joined the European Union but, unfortunately lot of statistic studies indicate that Croatia is far from EU standards. The GDP per capita in Croatia is among the lowest of the EU. With EUR 10,300 in 2012, it comes to only 40% of the EU-27 average (EUR 25,600); only Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Poland arrive at lower values. In purchasing power standards, Croatia reaches 61% of the EU-27 average. As for the EU as a whole, both GDP per capita and purchasing power standards are particularly low in the rural regions of Croatia. Only half of the population was employed in 2012; this is significantly less than for the EU as a whole (64%). Consequently, the unemployment rate in Croatia (15.9%) was higher than in the EU-27 (10.5%) and particularly the youth unemployment rate (15-24 years) was the third highest in the EU (43.1%), only exceeded by Greece (55.3%) and Spain (53.2%). In Croatia, employment rates in thinly populated, intermediate and densely populated areas are very similar, with differences of only 2 percentage points (higher in densely populated areas). The rate of self-employment is slightly higher in Croatia (14.6%) than in the EU-27 (14.5%). The total poverty rate in Croatia (32.7%) is higher than in the EU-27 (24.2%), and is indeed the fifth-highest among EU Member States. Here, the difference between thinly populated (~ rural)

17 and densely-populated (~ urban) areas is particularly high with 11.6 percentage points (5.9 percentage points in the EU-27). The primary sector (agriculture, forestry and fishing) plays a more important role in Croatia than in most other parts of the EU. With 5% of total GVA it is clearly less important than the secondary (industry and construction; 26%) or tertiary (services; 69%) sector, but only Bulgaria and Romania reach higher values (6.4% and 6%, respectively). In terms of employment, however, the picture is slightly different: Here, Croatia's primary sector only offers 4.7% of all jobs15, while the EU-27 average stands at 5.2%. Nine EU countries have a higher share of primary sector employment, led by Romania with 30.6%. Consequently, labour productivity in Croatia's primary sector is higher than in many other EU countries. With EUR per employed person it is right in the middle of the group. Contrary to most other EU countries16, labour productivity in Croatia's primary sector is higher than in its secondary sector, and very close to that of its tertiary sector. Table 2 - Difference between Croatian and EU economy Croatia EU-27 GVA by sector Primary sector (agriculture, forestry, fishing) 5% 1.7% Secondary sector (industry and construction) 26% 25.3% Tertiary sector (services) 69% 73.0% GVA by type of region Rural 44.2% 13.5% Intermediate 22.5% 26.1% Urban 33.3% 47.3% Employment by sector Primary 4.7% 5.2% Secondary 31.3% 22.6% Tertiary 64.0% 72.2% Employment by type of region Rural 48.3% 20.4% Intermediate 23.0% 33.8% Urban 28.7% 45.1% Labour productivity by sector Primary EUR /person EUR /person Secondary EUR /person EUR /person Tertiary EUR /person EUR /person Labour productivity by type of region Rural EUR /person EUR /person Intermediate EUR /person EUR /person Urban EUR /person EUR /person Source: MA

18 5.2. THE HISTORY OF EU FUNDS IN CROATIA The European Union provides assistance programs for Croatia since 1991, when in the middle of war there was need for humanitarian and reconstruction assistance for social and public infrastructure, as well as the revitalization of the economy. After these difficult years that were marked by programs aimed for recovery of the Croatian war suffering (OBNOVA), assistance continued through other programs. The Republic of Croatia, as a potential EU member, has used the program Reconstruction in the period from 1996 until 2000 (financing primarily the war-torn regions). From the year 2001 until 2004, the Republic of Croatia used the CARDS (Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilization) program funds, intended for technical and financial aid to the EU countries of SE Europe in the Stabilization and Association Process. The CARDS Program constituted of two components: national and regional. The national component was intended for the CARDS program recipient countries individually, whereas the regional component financed activities implemented by several program recipient countries in the regions in which their joint action lead to more efficient results. The implementation of projects from the CARDS Program lasted until 31 December The Republic of Croatia gained the status of a candidate country in the year 2004, and thus the first generation of pre-accession programs became available: PHARE (Pologne Hongrie Aide a la reconstruction économique). Croatia has used it since The program aimed at preparing the candidate countries to implement the EU Community acquis, and using the structural and the cohesion funds after accession. The program implementation ended on 30 October The ISPA financed infrastructural projects concerning transport infrastructure and environment protection. The program implementation ended on 31 December SAPARD (Special Pre-accession Assistance for Agriculture and Rural Development) aid for financing projects concerning agriculture and rural development, for implementing the Community acquis with respect to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 6, and preparing the candidate countries for use of the agricultural and fisheries funds after becoming a European Union member country. The SAPARD implementation ended on 31 December Since the year 2007, Croatia has been using the IPA funds. IPA includes five components: IPA I - strengthening capacity and institutions. The target is to meet economic, political and other criteria for EU accession, and maintenance of the criteria even after joining the EU. IPA II - cross-border co-operation. Provides support to programmes that refer to crossborder co-operation of the border regions of the RCro and the neighbouring countries. IPA III - regional development - supports infrastructural projects in the segments of environment protection and traffic, and programmes of stimulating competitiveness and regional development. IPA IV - human potential development, targeting employment, education, professional training and social integration. 6 The Common Agricultural Policy Explained, European Commission of the European Union (DG AGRI, 2004)

19 IPA V - rural development - IPARD- promotion of agricultural sector and strengthening the competitiveness of agricultural products, improving market efficacy and EU standards implementation, and development of rural economy. IPARD The IPARD funds are allocated to the candidate countries and the potential EU membership candidates. The programme priorities include advanced market efficiency, rural economy development and support to preparations for implementing rural development measures and strategies. The IPARD is conducted in the form of a Calls for Proposal (announced by the Paying Agency for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development - PAAFRD). The Calls for Proposal can be found on the web sites of the PAAFRD and the Ministry of Agriculture IPARD PROGRAM The IPARD Programme constitutes a strategy which aims to tackle specific drawbacks in the rural areas in Croatia which were identified in the analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of the agricultural and rural sector in Croatia 9. In accordance with the IPA Regulation and the conditions lay down in the framework of the Accession Partnership, Community support is provided for sustainable agriculture and sustainable rural development measures for the pre-accession period within priority areas. Taking into account the results of the SWOT analysis and the shortcuts in the implementation of the above described National Agricultural and Fishery Strategy of the Republic of Croatia, the identified development priority areas of the IPARD Programme are as follows: PRIORITY AXIS 1: Improving market efficiency and implementation of Community standards PRIORITY AXIS 2: Preparatory actions for implementation of the agri-environmental measures and local rural development strategies PRIORITY AXIS 3: Development of rural economy The three priority axes focus on the economic development of specific sub sectors or following a territorial approach. General objectives of IPARD programme are to certain extent linked to Lisbon and Gőteborg declarations, concerning support to diversification of economic activities, development of small and middle entrepreneurship and special care for environment protection. Due to limited financial volume it was indispensable to make clear-cut choices on the specific aims, which are to be achieved in each priority field and which meet an urgent need for intervention. Therefore, the specific objectives of the IPARD Programme will only partly cover the difficulties illustrated in the SWOT analysis of the agricultural sector and the rural areas in Croatia. The IPARD measures will complement the implementation of the National 7 Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, 2010 Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Agriculture and Rural Development Plan (directorate for rural development, June 2009) 9 Agriculture and Rural Development Plan - IPARD Programme th amendments (directorate of rural development, eu and international cooperation, September 2013.)

20 Agricultural and Fishery Strategy. Based on Act of State Aid for Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry, Croatian Government supports development of agricultural sector and rural areas through national support schemes. National support is focused on wide range of beneficiaries (farmers, noncommercial producers, local self-government, associations and cooperatives, etc.) and wide range of investments. On the other hand, IPARD founds are targeted to limited number of sectors, eligible investments and final beneficiaries. They are focused at viable producers, with clear priority objective to support them in upgrading to Community standards and facilitate their competitiveness. National schemes and IPARD funds in that way complement each other by providing necessary support to different beneficiaries with division of objectives. The IPARD assistance can also contribute to a sustainable and social coherent rural development process consistent with international environmental practices by developing the rural economy, enhancing income and providing and securing employment opportunities in the rural areas to counterbalance disparities between regions and compared to urban areas, as well as to develop and rehabilitee basic rural infrastructure, also in war effected areas IPARD MEASURES Measure 101. Measure 101: Investments in agricultural holdings to restructure and to upgrade to Community standards. Beneficiaries of this measure are private owned entrepreneurs. Cross sector objectives: This measure aims at contributing to the implementation of CAP and other related policies within the scope of investments in agricultural holdings, in particular to the: Contribution to the preparation of the Candidate Country for its accession to the EU Upgrading to the Community Standards as regards environmental protection, public health (food safety and quality), animal and plant health, animal welfare and occupational safety Modernisation of production systems aimed at decreasing the pollution of the environment through agricultural production Improvement of the overall performance in the production of primary agricultural products Improvement of the products quality Reduction of production costs and, thus, increasing the sustainability and competitiveness of the farmers especially towards accession and future open EU market Facilitating the competition in the internal market opening new market opportunities for agricultural products

21 Sectors: Milk sector Beef sector Pig sector Poultry sector Egg sector Fruits and vegetables sector Cereals and oil crops Aid level: Amounts in HRK presented below are only for indicative purposes. Beneficiary can claim the support per one application for the eligible expenditure not less than EUR 13.5 thousand ( HRK). Within the timeframe of IPARD and measure 101: 1. Beneficiary can claim the support, irrespective of the total value of investment for the eligible expenditures not higher than EUR 900 thousand (HRK 6,570,000). 2. Exceptionally, beneficiary can claim the support, irrespective of the total value of investment, for the eligible expenditures not higher than EUR 2.0 million (14,600,000 HRK), if they relate exclusively: to the implementation of the Directive 91/676/EEC (protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources) - construction and/or reconstruction of manure storage capacities and/or specific equipment of facilities for handling and usage of animal manure to the implementation of Directive 99/74/EEC (minimum standards for the protection of laying hens) in eggs sector - reconstruction and/or equipment facilities (cages) Aid intensity, expressed as the share of public support in the eligible expenditures of the investment, amounts up to: 50% or 55% if the investment is made by young farmer (under 40 years of age at the time when the decision to grant support is taken, possessing adequate occupational skills and competence) or 60%, if the investment is made in mountain area 65%, if the investment is made by young farmer in mountain area or

22 75%, if the investment relates exclusively to the implementation of Council Directive 91/676/EEC subject to the existence of a national strategy for its implementation Measure 103 Measure 103: Investments in the processing and marketing of agriculture and fishery products to restructure those activities and to upgrade them to Community standards. Beneficiaries of this measure are private owned entrepreneurs. Cross sector objectives This measure aims at contributing to the implementation of CAP and other related policies within the scope of investments in agricultural holdings, in particular to the: Contribution to the preparation of the Candidate Country for its accession to the EU. Adjustment of agricultural and fisheries processing plants to meet EU minimum standards related to hygiene, public health, animal welfare, occupational safety and environmental conditions Improvement of the animal waste management situation through investment in collecting centers for animal waste Improvement of marketing channels for the primary producers in the agricultural and fisheries sector by improved access to processing facilities Improvement of overall performance in the processing and marketing of primary agricultural and fishery products Facilitation the competition in the internal market by the introduction of new technologies and innovation Opening new market opportunities for agricultural products, putting emphasis on the alignment to the Community standards. Sectors: Milk and dairy sector Meat sector Fisheries Fruit and vegetables processing industry Wine sector Olive oil sector

23 Aid level: Amounts in HRK presented below are only for indicative purposes. Beneficiary can claim the support per one application (investment/project) for the eligible expenditure not less than EUR 33.8 thousand (HRK 250,000) or not less than EUR 13.5 thousand (HRK 100,000) for the wine and olive oil sector. Within the timeframe of IPARD and measure 103, beneficiary can claim the support, irrespective of the total value of investment for the eligible expenditures not higher than: EUR 3.0 million (HRK 21,900,000), except in the olive sector EUR 500 thousand (HRK 3,650,000), in the olive sector Aid intensity, expressed as the share of public support in the eligible expenditures of the investment amounts up to 50%.A maximum of five eligible investments per beneficiary are allowed. The application for the next investment can be brought in only after finalization (final payment) of the previous investment. The payments for the investments shall be received in one instalment subject to the details fixed in the contract signed between the beneficiary and the Paying Agency Measure 202 Measure 202: Preparation and implementation of local rural development strategies. Beneficiaries of this measure is public sector. Cross sector objectives LEADER approach is aiming at the promotion of rural development through local initiatives and partnerships. The general objectives of the LEADER approach under IPARD are: to improve rural living and working conditions, including welfare, to create new, sustainable income earning opportunities, to preserve and create jobs, to diversify economic activities More specifically the objectives are: to encourage and develop capacities of rural population to act together also through cooperation projects, to develop integrated local development strategies and to prepare the implementation of those, to promote local initiatives and partnership through involvement of local communities as well as representatives of business and local government,

24 to transfer achievements, experiences and expertise and to make available information and conclusions The operational objectives are as follows: to enhance capacity among rural inhabitants and LAG members through training and education, to develop, organize and run LAGs, to prepare and begin implementation of the LDS through local projects. Sectors: LEADER approach in Croatia was supported through: Measure Technical Assistance, for capacity building of potential LAGs (TA activity" Acquisition of skills and animating the inhabitants of rural territories") Measure 202, Sub-measure 1, for capacity building of selected LAGs (Sub-measure "Acquisition of skills, animating the inhabitants of LAG territories") Measure 202, Sub-measure 2, for running the selected LAGs (Sub-measure "Implementation of local development strategies") Aid level: The eligible expenditures for this Sub-measure are: Salaries for the LAG manager and/or other LAG employees, Office rent and overheads Office materials (stationery ect) Purchase of equipment, including IT equipment, furnishings Services (IT specialists, accountants, etc.). Aid intensity, expressed as the share of public support in the eligible expenditures amounts to up to 100%, where the EU contribution is 80%

25 Measure 301 Measure 301: Improvement and development of rural infrastructure. Beneficiaries of this measure is public sector (small cities, municipalities, counties, etc.) Cross sector objectives This measure aims at contributing to the implementation of CAP and other related policies within the scope of the development and improvement of the basic rural infrastructure, in particular to: Development and improvement of the basic infrastructure to foster economic and social activities for a balanced growth Improvement of the rural living and working conditions Improvement of the rural depopulation situation, mainly to give incentives for the active population to retain in and / or return to the rural areas. Sectors: Sewerage system and wastewater treatment Local unclassified roads Heating plants Fire prevention passage with elements of forest road as defined by ordinance on protection of forest from fire Aid level: Aid intensity, expressed as the share of public support in the eligible expenditures of the investment amounts up to 100% (75% EU, 25% national funds) per investments not of a nature to generate substantial net revenue; Aid intensity, expressed as the share of public support in the eligible expenditures of the investment amounts up to 100% (75% EU, 25% national funds) per investments not of a nature to generate substantial net revenue; Maximum eligible expenditures per investment (project) are: EUR (HRK 3 million) for investments in local unclassified roads or fire prevention roads EUR (HRK 7 million) for investments in sewerage system and wastewater treatment plants or heating plants Within the timeframe of IPARD and measure 301, beneficiary can claim the support, irrespective of the total value of investment for the eligible expenditures not higher than EUR 1,363,000 (HRK )

26 Measure 302 Measure 302: Diversification and development of rural economic activities Beneficiaries of this measure are private owned entrepreneurs. Cross sector objectives This measure aims at contributing to the implementation of CAP and other related policies within the scope of investments in rural areas, in particular to: Increased income of the beneficiary rural population through the development and diversification of on-farm and/or off-farm rural activities Creation of new employment opportunities through the development and diversification of on-farm and/or off-farm rural activities Preservation of existing working places Increased the volume of services for rural inhabitants and improve the quality of the services provided Improvement of social structure in the rural areas Sectors: Rural tourism Traditional crafts Direct marketing Services On-farm processing plants Freshwater aquaculture Renewable energy Aid level: Aid intensity, expressed as the share of public support in the eligible expenditures of the investment amounts up to 50%.Maximum eligible expenditure per investment (project) is EUR 150,000 (HRK 1,095,000), except in renewable energy resources where maximum eligible expenditure per investment is EUR 675,000 (HRK 5,000,000).Maximum three eligible investments per beneficiary within the timeframe of IPARD are allowed, out of which only one can be in renewable energy resources. The application for the next investment can be brought in only after finalisation (final payment) of the previous investment

27 Within the timeframe of IPARD and measure 302, beneficiary can claim the support, irrespective of the total value of investment for the eligible expenditures not higher than: EUR 975,000, if one of the investments relates to renewable energy resources or EUR 450,000, in all other cases. The payments for the investments shall be received in one instalment according to the details fixed in the contract signed with the Paying Agency Measure 501 Measure 501: technical assistance. Beneficiaries of this measure is public sector (Ministry of Agriculture). Cross sector objectives The objectives of this measure are to assist in particular in implementation and monitoring of the programme and its possible subsequent modification. In support of these aims, the objectives include: To provide support for the monitoring of the programme To ensure an adequate flow of information and publicity To support studies, visits and seminars To provide support for external expertise To provide support for the evaluation of the programme To provide support for the future implementation of a national rural development network Final beneficiary The beneficiary of activities under the measure for Technical Assistance is the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Managing Authority of the Programme. Aid level: The Community contribution to the eligible expenditure shall be limited to 80% of total public expenditure. It is expected that approximately 30% of the Technical Assistance measure annually will be allocated for sub measure 1 within Measure 202 "Preparation and implementation of local rural development strategies"

28 Amendments and modifications of IPARD Programme On 25 February 2008, the European Commission adopted the IPARD Programme for the Republic of Croatia within the framework of the IPA Programme - Component V - Rural development. Since then, seven amendments to the IPARD Programme were proposed and adopted. The first amendments to the Programme were approved by Commission Decision C(2008) 6123 of 27 October 2008, the second were approved on 10 September 2009 by Decision C(2009) 6770, the third by Decision C(2010) 8462 of 26 November 2010, the fourth by Decision C(2012) 374 of 25 January 2012, the fifth by Decision C(2012)7820 of 06 November 2012, the sixth by Decision C(2013)6856 of 18 October and seventh by Decision C(2014)9619 of 10 December The first amendments pertain to amendments for adopting a new MIPD, amendments of a technical nature, amendments to criteria including changes to the numbers of food business establishments that handle food of animal origin. The second amendments are also related to the adoption of a new MIPD, to the correction of errors of technical nature, as well as amendments to criteria (the most significant being the amendment of criteria that pertain to slaughterhouse capacities). The third and most comprehensive amendments to the IPARD Programme are a result of proposals submitted by the PAAFRD, various agricultural producers and processing companies, producer associations, the Croatian Chamber of Economy, the Croatian Employers' Association, and other economic interest associations. The amendments mainly pertain to Measures 101 and 103. The most important changes to Measure 101 were changes in upper quantitative thresholds of eligible investments, expanded sectors, new types of investments were enabled, especially in milk production (sheep and goat), cow-calf system production, planting orchards and table grapes plantations, reconstruction of vineyards and olive groves, open field irrigation, ULO cold stores. Investments in the poultry sector were also added, i.e. the existing eligible investments were expanded to include poultry breeding farms, waste management, wastewater treatment and prevention of air pollution as well as biogas plants. Legal persons with integrated production were included as beneficiaries on the levels of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, or if they are outside of those levels, but are obliged to comply with the IPPC Directive. In regard to Measure 103, investments in the fruit and vegetable processing sector were made eligible, since the criterion pertaining to the establishment of producer organisations was repealed, sectors were expanded, enabling new types of investments into processing medicinal, culinary and aromatic herbs, meat processing, investments in waste management, wastewater treatment and prevention of air pollution, quantitative minimum and maximum criteria for milk producers included on the non-compliance list were repealed. The entities obliged to comply 10 Commission Implementing Decision C(2013) 6856 of October 2013 amending Commission Decision C(2008)690 of 25 February 2008 approving the Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development of the Republic of Croatia under the instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPA, 15/09/2015) 11 Commission Implementing Decision C(2014) 9619 of December 2014 amending Commission Decision C(2008)690 of 25 February 2008 approving the Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development of the Republic of Croatia under the instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPA, 15/09/2015)

29 with the IPPC Directive were introduced as new beneficiaries, provided that they do not increase production capacities, and investments pertaining to compliance with EU environmental protection standards were made eligible for beneficiaries. The fourth amendments to the IPARD Programme, in addition to amendments of a technical nature and more precise wording, also introduced the change whereby the capacity of a facility is taken into account in regard to the number of enclosures, while previously only the minimum or the maximum number of animals was stated. Investments in construction and/or reconstruction and/or equipment of mushroom production facilities were made eligible in the fruit and vegetables sector, which was transferred from Measure 302. A minimum value of eligible investments amounting to EUR 13.5 thousand was introduced for the olive oil sector within Measure 103. In Measure 302, in the rural tourism sector, investments were made eligible not only in category D settlements and other non-classified settlements, but also in those classified under category C. The maximum capacity for freshwater fisheries was amended. In the sector of processing on agricultural holdings, eligible investments in fish processing, the processing of culinary, medicinal and aromatic herbs, and mushroom processing were added. In Measure 301, local unclassified roads sector, the conditions for road dedication were amended and it was explicitly stated that a beneficiary can be granted support for eligible expenditures in the amount no higher than EUR 1,363,000 during the Programme. Moreover, during the fourth amendments to the Programme, Measure 202 was fully reorganized. The Measure consists of two sub-measures "Acquisition of skills and animating the inhabitants of LAG territories" and "Implementing Local Development Strategies" whose beneficiaries are selected LAGs, who sign a Contract with the PAAFRD on the allocation of IPARD Programme funds for the co-financing of LAGs. The fifth amendments to the IPARD Programme were adopted by the Monitoring Committee on 28 June 2012, and approved by the EC on 06 November Amendments to Measure 101: - a new type of investment was introduced in all sectors investments in agricultural machinery and equipment (for basic and additional processing, fertilisation, sowing, planting, plant protection, harvesting and transport), including tractors; - the maximum tractor power is 100 kw, and a beneficiary can be awarded support for the procurement of one tractor in the course of IPARD duration; - with the basic objective of preserving the environment, eligible investments were expanded to include renewable energy sources on farms with the possibility of utilising all renewable energy sources. The amendments to Measure 103 pertained to the wine and olive oil sector: - existing eligible investments were expanded; - a new type of investment was introduced (investment in equipment for processing pomace into pellets); - alignment with other sectors with regard to wastewater treatment, air filtration and cooling systems

30 The amendments to Measure 302 added eligible investments in the services sector, namely investments in hairdresser's shops and nursing homes. Furthermore, with regard to indicators, the number of received applications and the number of contracted applications were added as output indicators. The allocation for 2012 was added to the financial tables, and the allocation for 2008 was reduced due to de-commitment. The sixth amendments to the IPARD Programme were adopted by the Monitoring Committee on 12 June 2013, and approved by the EC on 18 October The Programme amendments pertain to the reallocation of financial resources. The allocation for 2013 was added in the amount of EUR 27,700,000, and the allocation for 2009 was reduced due to de-commitment of a portion of the funds. The funds earmarked for Measure 201 were fully reallocated. The funds for Measure 501 were reduced, and the funds for Measures 101 and 301 were increased. The sixth amendments will not have a substantial impact on further Programme implementation. The seventh amendments to the IPARD Programme were adopted by the Monitoring Committee on 12 June 2014, and approved by the EC on 10 December The Programme amendments pertain to the reallocation of financial resources. The allocation for 2010 was reduced due to de-commitment of a portion of the funds. Funds were transferred from M301 to M101, so the lacks of funds for M101 are covered, while M301 has sufficient funds to pay all the projects that have signed memorandums of understanding. Overall, it increased the total funding for M101, accordingly for Priority 1, and relatively reduced funding for M301 and Priority 3. These amendments ensured sufficient funds for all IPARD projects while a further correction (following de-commitment for 2011 and the needs of the contract in force, taking into account the possibility of financing measures 101 and 103 from the RDP ) will be made in the next amendments

31 5.5. THE DATA SOURCES The study included desk-top analysis from information available on official IPARD pages, (Agencija za plaćanja u poljoprivredi, ribarstvu i ruralnom razvoju, eng. Paying Agency for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development), other available sources from Ministry of Agriculture 12 and other evaluation reports and studies on this topic 13. The analysis is based on different IPARD measures: Measure 101 Investments in agricultural holdings to restructure and to upgrade to Community standards Measure 103 Investments in the processing and marketing of agriculture and fishery products to restructure those activities and to upgrade them to Community standards Measure 201.: Actions to improve the environment and the countryside Measure 202.: Preparation and implementation of local rural development strategies Measure 301.: Improvement and development of rural infrastructure Measure 302.: Diversification and development of rural economic activities Measure 501: Technical assistance Only Measure 201 weren t available for application because the content was never opened. Main information was taken from two documents available on Registered user of IPARD founds Contracted Projects till 03. December Registered users of IPARD founds Paid Projects till 03. December In the period from 04 January 2010 to 03 December 2014, a total of 20 calls were implemented for measures of IPARD program. In the year 2010, 3 calls for the Measure 101 and 103. In the year 2011, 7 calls were implemented, 3 of them for the Measures 101 and 103, 2 calls for the Measure 301 and 2 calls for the Measure 302. During the year 2012, 5 calls were implemented, 2 of them for the Measures 101 and 103, 1 for the Measure 301 and 2 calls for the Measure 302. In the year 2013 there were 4 calls implemented, 1 of them for Measures 101 and 103, 2 for Measure 202 and 1 for measure 501. In year 2014 there was only one call for Measures 101 and Source: (15/09/2015) 13 Cornuelois consulting SARL, IPARD On-going evaluation report, March 2012 (Annual report on the implementation of the IPARD programme in the Republic of Croatia, December 2013)

32 Total IPARD allocation for period Table 3 Total IPARD allocation for Croatia for period in EUR YEAR % Priority 1 (Axis 1) ,30% Measure ,15% Measure ,15% Priority 2 (Axis 2) ,33% Measure ,00% 0 0 Measure ,33% Priority 3 (Axis 3) ,68% Measure ,76% Measure ,92% Measure 501 (TA) ,70% TOTAL ,00% Source: Self-made according to information available on official web pages of PAAFRD ( We can see that total allocation for IPARD was EUR 184,370,000. Allocation was from EUR 25.5 million to 27.7 million EUR per year. Most funds was allocated to Axis 1, measure 101 and 103. Axis 3 with measures 301 and 302 was second largest, with measure 301 much larger than measure 302. Measure 202 and 501 were smallest in funds with little more than 6 % of all funds. Measure 201 was never opened

33 Progress in implementation of IPARD measures 101 and 103 The first call for the Measures 101 and 103 lasted from 04/01/2010 to 04/03/2010. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the table below. Table 4 First Call for IPARD measures 101 and 103 STATUS Source: PAAFRD NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,83 100,00% ,71 100,00% 78, ,72 Measure ,27% ,58 48,61% ,40 49,69% 38, ,28 Measure ,73% ,25 51,39% ,31 50,31% 39, ,21 Refused 17 45,95% ,08 36,45% ,85 36,18% 28, ,23 Withdrawed applications 2 5,41% ,87 16,26% ,32 15,94% 12, ,16 Terminated contracts 5 13,51% ,21 4,67% ,11 5,11% 3, ,82 Measure 101 contracted 11 42,31% ,71 51,85% ,84 51,52% 19, ,53 Measure 103 contracted 2 18,18% ,78 32,32% ,89 32,36% 12, ,45 Total contracted project's 13 35,14% ,49 41,81% ,73 41,88% 32, ,98 Realized projects and paid support 13 35,14% ,27 96,50% ,89 96,53% 31, ,99 There was total 37 applications with total investment over HRK 153 million, and requested support over 78 million HRK. Only 13 contracts were realized with investment over HRK 61 million, and paid support of over 31 million HRK. This call is absolutely finished because all approved projects are realized and for all of them support is paid

34 The second call for the Measures 101 and 103 lasted from 17/05/2010 to 07/06/2010. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the table below. Table 5 Second Call for IPARD measure 101 and 103 STATUS NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,17 100,00% ,48 100,00% 30, ,42 Measure ,54% ,29 40,91% ,04 41,89% 12, ,13 Measure ,46% ,88 59,09% ,44 58,11% 17, ,89 Source: PAAFRD Refused 3 23,08% ,09 23,35% ,42 24,29% 7, ,81 Withdrawed applications 0 0,00% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 0,00 Terminated contracts 1 7,69% ,32 2,11% ,66 2,07% 0, ,66 Measure 101 contracted 4 50,00% ,67 37,58% ,10 36,48% 4, ,53 Measure 103 contracted 5 100,00% ,97 91,56% ,99 91,56% 16, ,80 Total contracted project's 9 69,23% ,64 69,48% ,09 68,49% 20, ,90 Realized projects and paid support 8 61,54% ,08 72,28% ,80 72,35% 14, ,23 There was total 13 applications with total investment over HRK 59 million, and requested support over HRK 30 million. Only 8 contracts were realized with investment over HRK 29 million, and paid support of over HRK 14 million

35 The third call for the Measures 101 and 103 lasted from 01/07/2010 to 05/11/2010. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the table below. Table 6 Third Call for IPARD measure 101 and 103 STATUS Source: PAAFRD NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,94 100,00% ,75 100,00% 51, ,61 Measure ,77% ,76 61,63% ,86 64,20% 32, ,47 Measure ,23% ,18 38,37% ,89 35,80% 18, ,38 Refused 9 34,62% ,82 14,55% ,96 15,60% 7, ,00 Withdrawed applications 1 3,85% ,73 2,35% ,37 2,40% 1, ,37 Terminated contracts 0 0,00% 0,00 0,00% ,73 46,82% 23,92 #DIV/0! Measure 101 contracted 12 57,14% ,54 68,98% ,73 72,92% 23, ,56 Measure 103 contracted 4 80,00% ,16 86,11% ,57 94,17% 17, ,14 Total contracted project's 16 61,54% ,70 75,55% ,30 80,53% 41, ,96 Realized projects and paid support 15 57,69% ,80 87,34% ,52 87,80% 36, ,30 There was total 26 applications with total investment over HRK 104 million, and requested support over HRK 51 million. 15 contracts were realized with investment over HRK 68 million, and paid support of over HRK 36 million

36 The fourth call for the Measures 101 and 103 lasted from 01/02/2011 to 14/03/2011. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the table below. Table 7 Fourth Call for IPARD measure 101 and 103 STATUS Source: PAAFRD NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,45 100,00% ,82 100,00% 88, ,84 Measure ,36% ,21 43,38% ,57 37,34% 33, ,95 Measure ,64% ,24 56,62% ,25 62,66% 55, ,60 Refused 7 15,91% ,19 16,31% ,12 6,09% 5, ,02 Withdrawed applications 1 2,27% ,04 0,72% ,02 0,81% 0, ,02 Terminated contracts 4 9,09% ,04 6,70% ,44 8,28% 7, ,86 Measure 101 contracted 21 77,78% ,39 52,52% ,14 68,65% 22, ,86 Measure 103 contracted 11 64,71% ,92 91,23% ,09 91,61% 51, ,92 Total contracted project's 32 72,73% ,31 74,44% ,23 83,04% 73, ,69 Realized projects and paid support 30 68,18% ,40 80,58% ,61 80,64% 59, ,02 There was total 44 applications with total investment over 197 million HRK, and requested support over 88 million HRK. 32 contracts were realized with investment over 118 million HRK, and paid support of over 59 million HRK

37 The fifth call for the Measures 101 and 103 lasted from 30/05/2011 to 11/07/2011. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the table below. Table 8 Fifth Call for IPARD measure 101 and 103 STATUS Source: PAAFRD NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,43 100,00% ,74 100,00% 99, ,44 Measure ,00% ,12 42,38% ,07 43,99% 43, ,74 Measure ,00% ,31 57,62% ,67 56,01% 55, ,57 Refused 15 37,50% ,36 28,97% ,44 29,78% 29, ,30 Withdrawed applications 1 2,50% ,10 0,58% ,01 0,62% 0, ,01 Terminated contracts 2 5,00% ,48 11,60% ,24 11,28% 11, ,12 Measure 101 contracted 17 56,67% ,97 55,48% ,92 54,47% 23, ,76 Measure 103 contracted 5 50,00% ,54 60,58% ,26 60,58% 33, ,25 Total contracted project's 22 55,00% ,51 58,42% ,18 57,89% 57, ,14 Realized projects and paid support 19 47,50% ,88 76,92% ,78 76,36% 43, ,83 There was total 40 applications with total investment over HRK 192 million, and requested support over HRK 99 million. 19 contracts were realized with investment over HRK 86 million, and paid grant of support HRK 43 million

38 The sixth call for the Measures 101 and 103 lasted from 17/10/2011 to 28/11/2011. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the table below. Table 9 Sixth Call for IPARD measure 101 and 103 STATUS Source: PAAFRD NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,18 100,00% ,50 100,00% 165, ,84 Measure ,13% ,77 46,39% ,05 47,76% 79, ,52 Measure ,87% ,41 53,61% ,45 52,24% 86, ,61 Refused 15 24,59% ,24 13,48% ,28 14,36% 23, ,02 Withdrawed applications 7 11,48% ,76 6,86% ,54 6,91% 11, ,36 Terminated contracts 7 11,48% ,65 18,37% ,31 18,60% 30, ,04 Measure 101 contracted 23 52,27% ,70 44,92% ,21 47,35% 37, ,88 Measure 103 contracted 9 52,94% ,48 66,31% ,74 68,91% 59, ,86 Total contracted project's 32 52,46% ,18 56,39% ,95 58,61% 97, ,31 Realized projects and paid support 30 49,18% ,98 83,65% ,65 83,39% 81, ,92 There was total 61 applications with total investment over HRK 336 million, and requested support over HRK 165 million. 30 contracts realized with investment support HRK 158 million, and paid support of over HRK 81 million

39 The seventh call for the Measures 101 and 103 lasted from 02/01/2012 to 29/02/2012. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the table below. Table 10 Seventh Call for IPARD measure 101 and 103 STATUS Source: PAAFRD NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,69 100,00% ,88 100,00% 73, ,20 Measure ,00% ,74 67,40% ,23 68,60% 50, ,16 Measure ,00% ,95 32,60% ,65 31,40% 23, ,33 Refused 5 12,50% ,45 6,04% ,80 5,89% 4, ,96 Withdrawed applications 3 7,50% ,91 6,35% ,66 6,58% 4, ,89 Terminated contracts 3 7,50% ,13 6,61% ,71 6,91% 5, ,57 Measure 101 contracted 23 71,88% ,65 71,84% ,38 71,64% 36, ,32 Measure 103 contracted 6 75,00% ,54 95,58% ,75 95,33% 21, ,29 Total contracted project's 29 72,50% ,19 79,58% ,13 79,08% 58, ,52 Realized projects and paid support 25 62,50% ,59 79,99% ,24 79,60% 46, ,09 There was total 40 applications with total investment over HRK 140 million, and requested support over HRK 73 million. 25 contracts were realized with investment over HRK 89 million, and paid support of over HRK 46 million

40 The eight call for the Measures 101 and 103 lasted from 14/05/2012 to 13/07/2012. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the table below. Table 11 Eight Call for IPARD measure 101 and 103 STATUS Source: PAAFRD NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,89 100,00% ,28 100,00% 135, ,36 Measure ,36% ,00 65,45% ,31 66,10% 89, ,41 Measure ,64% ,89 34,55% ,97 33,90% 45, ,09 Refused 2 3,57% ,00 8,33% ,00 8,17% 11, ,00 Withdrawed applications 8 14,29% ,30 12,07% ,53 12,13% 16, ,44 Terminated contracts 9 16,07% ,72 22,38% ,84 22,20% 30, ,43 Measure 101 contracted 32 71,11% ,37 62,18% ,24 62,39% 55, ,73 Measure 103 contracted 5 45,45% ,64 40,61% ,31 40,61% 18, ,66 Total contracted project's 37 66,07% ,01 54,73% ,55 55,01% 74, ,93 Realized projects and paid support 30 53,57% ,62 90,89% ,25 91,00% 67, ,58 There was total 56 applications with total investment over HRK 265 million, and requested support over HRK 135 million. 30 contracts were realized with investment over HRK 132 million, and paid support of over HRK 67 million

41 The ninth call for the Measures 101 and 103 lasted from 01/03/2013 to 12/04/2013. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the table below. Table 12 Ninth Call for IPARD measure 101 and 103 STATUS Source: PAAFRD NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,01 100,00% ,10 100,00% 418, ,30 Measure ,83% ,21 63,39% ,27 64,85% 271, ,17 Measure ,17% ,80 36,61% ,83 35,15% 147, ,47 Refused 34 14,59% ,72 13,84% ,62 13,82% 57, ,90 Withdrawed applications 29 12,45% ,25 16,32% ,64 16,29% 68, ,26 Terminated contracts 10 4,29% ,53 3,71% ,49 3,84% 16,06 0,00 Measure 101 contracted ,47% ,01 58,24% ,93 57,89% 157, ,20 Measure 103 contracted 24 60,00% ,83 69,77% ,37 70,81% 104, ,39 Total contracted project's ,67% ,84 62,46% ,30 62,43% 261, ,23 Realized projects and paid support 98 42,06% ,18 45,13% ,40 44,95% 117, ,18 There was total 233 applications with total investment over HRK 815 million, and requested support over HRK 418 million. 160 applications were approved with total investment of over HRK 509 million and approved support of over HRK 261 million. This content was with longest period of approval and from some sources we have information that approval was weighted as long as 18 months 14 because of total number of applied projects and low capacity of Paying Agency to approve project. Till 02/02/2016 there are 98 realized projects with total investment of over HRK 229 million and paid support of over HRK 117 million. 14 From author s clients some application were approved in September

42 The tenth call for the Measures 101 and 103 lasted from 04/04/2014 to 18/04/2014. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the table below. Table 13 Tenth Call for IPARD measure 101 and 103 STATUS Source: PAAFRD NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,32 100,00% ,81 100,00% 217, ,87 Measure ,68% ,31 63,58% ,79 65,10% 141, ,49 Measure ,32% ,01 36,42% ,02 34,90% 76, ,34 Refused 25 23,58% ,62 39,68% ,34 40,05% 87, ,05 Withdrawed applications 32 30,19% ,40 27,85% ,61 28,21% 61, ,64 Terminated contracts 2 1,89% ,98 1,95% ,49 1,87% 4,07 0,00 Measure 101 contracted 41 43,62% ,49 25,15% ,53 24,43% 34, ,82 Measure 103 contracted 6 50,00% ,13 36,03% ,56 36,03% 27, ,76 Total contracted project's 47 44,34% ,62 29,11% ,09 28,48% 62, ,34 Realized projects and paid support 21 19,81% ,51 17,72% ,75 18,33% 11,37 0,00 There was total 106 applications with total investment over HRK 417 million, and requested support over HRK 217 million. Only 47 applications were approved with total investment of over HRK 121 million and approved support of over HRK 62 million. Till 02/02/2016 there was 21 realized projects with total investment over HRK 21 million and paid support over HRK 11 million

43 In next table is shown all results for IPARD measures 101 and 103 that are most important for real sector. They also have biggest allocation (over 60% of all IPARD allocation). Table 14 - All IPARD calls for measure 101 and 103 STATUS Source: PAAFRD NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,91 100,00% ,07 100,00% 1.358, ,93 Measure ,27% ,99 57,31% ,59 58,40% 793, ,36 Measure ,73% ,92 42,69% ,48 41,60% 564, ,39 Refused ,12% ,57 19,66% ,83 19,34% 262, ,13 Withdrawed applications 84 12,80% ,36 12,80% ,70 13,05% 177, ,40 Terminated contracts 43 6,55% ,06 7,94% ,02 9,81% 133, ,28 Measure 101 contracted ,54% ,50 51,81% ,02 52,46% 416, ,82 Measure 103 contracted 77 56,62% ,99 63,32% ,53 64,16% 362, ,41 Total contracted project's ,52% ,49 56,72% ,55 57,33% 778, ,40 Realized projects and paid support ,80% ,31 65,54% ,89 65,47% 509, ,11 We can see that there was 656 application for grant with over HRK million investment and requested support of over HRK million. There was 520 applications (79,27%) for measure 101 with total investment of over HRK million (57,31%) and 136 applications in measure 103 with total investment of over HRK million. We also see that average requested support is around HRK 2 million and it is larger in measure 103 (HRK 4,1 million) than in measure 101 (HRK 1,5 million). In total there is 397 approved (contracted) projects with over HRK million investment (56,72%) and over HRK 778 million of approved support. For now there is HRK 997 million realized projects (65,54% of contracted projects) and over HRK 509 million of paid support (65,47 % of contracted support)

44 Graph 1 - Applied, contracted and realized projects for measures 101 and 103 Source: PAAFRD We can see that number of applications has risen over the years and that ninth call was with largest number of applied and contracted projects. In graph below we can see that trend line for successful contracting and it is slightly positive. Trend line for realized project is negative but IPARD program is still not over and there is time for realization till September Because of this we can expect that there will be more realized projects especially from 9 and 10 call. Graph 2 - Percentage of contracted and realized projects Source: PAAFRD,

45 Graph 3 - Number of contracted projects per measure Source: PAAFRD, 2016 Graph 4 - Applied, contacted and realized support Source: PAAFRD,

46 Graph 5 - Measure representation share per sector and year Source: MA, 2015 Graph 6 - Measure representation share per sector and year Source: MA,

47 Progress in implementation of IPARD Measures 201 and 202 At the end of the year 2010, NF withdrew national accreditation of sub-measure 202/1, Measure 202 Preparation and implementation of local strategies of rural development due to understatement of the IPARD program. During the year 2011, a permanent communication with the representatives of European Commission was held in order to facilitate the implementation of this measure through modifications of the Program the Measure 202 was changed by the fourth modifications of the IPARD program. In parallel, the Republic of Croatia includes stakeholders in the process of making new Ordinance of Implementation of the Measure 202. After approval of the fourth modifications of IPARD programme, Ordinance on Implementation of the Measure 202 (OG 53/12; 73/12) was published. After receiving conferral of management for the Measure 202, signing the first contracts with selected LAG-s was possible. This is the reason why there was no call for measure 201, and there was only two calls for measure 202. One was 01/03/ /04/2013 and second one 16/09/ /10/2013. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the tables below. Table 15 - First call for IPARD measures 202 STATUS Source: PAAFRD, 2016 NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,00 100,00% ,00 100,00% 28, ,10 Refused 17 34,69% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 0,00 Withdrawed applications 0 0,00% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 0,00 Terminated contracts 2 4,08% ,00 6,25% ,00 6,25% 1, ,00 Total contracted project's 30 61,22% ,00 93,75% ,00 93,75% 27, ,00 Realized projects and paid support 29 96,67% ,19 69,35% ,19 69,35% 18, ,

48 Table 16 - Second call for IPARD measure 202 STATUS Source: PAAFRD, 2016 NO. OF APPLICATIONS There was total 80 applications with total investment over HRK 39 million, with equal requested support (grand is up to 100 % of investment). 42 contracts were signed (projects approved) and 41 were realized with investment and paid grant of over HRK 25 million. Graph 7 - Paid support for Measure 202 PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,00 100,00% ,00 100,00% 10, ,10 Refused 17 54,84% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 0,00 Withdrawed applications 2 6,45% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 0,00 Terminated contracts 1 3,23% ,00 8,33% ,00 8,33% 0,90 0,00 Total contracted project's 12 38,71% ,00 91,67% ,00 91,67% 9, ,00 Realized projects and paid support ,00% ,10 64,60% ,10 64,60% 6, ,43 Source: MA,

49 Progress in implementation of IPARD measures 301 and 302 During the IPARD program implementation (from 04/01/2010 to 03/12/2014) three calls were announced for the Measure 301 and four for measure 302. The first call for the Measure 301 lasted from 06/12/2010 to 31/01/2011. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the table below. Table 17 - First call for IPARD measure 301 STATUS Source: PAAFRD, 2016 NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,26 100,00% ,86 100,00% 258, ,91 Refused 53 79,10% ,01 76,47% ,02 76,59% 198, ,77 Withdrawed applications 1 1,49% ,00 0,54% ,00 0,59% 1, ,00 Terminated contracts 1 1,49% ,62 1,69% ,62 1,85% 4, ,62 Total contracted project's 12 17,91% ,27 17,17% ,27 18,73% 48, ,94 Realized projects and paid support 9 75,00% ,25 50,81% ,25 50,81% 24, ,03 There was total 67 applications with total investment over HRK 282 million, and requested support over HRK 258 million (grant is up to 100%). Only 12 contracts were signed (projects approved) and 9 are realized with investment over HRK 24 million, with same paid support

50 The second call for the Measure 301 lasted from 16/05/2011 to 13/06/2011. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the table below. Table 18 - Second call for IPARD measure 301 STATUS NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,14 100,00% ,02 100,00% 182, ,87 Refused 16 34,78% ,72 35,99% ,13 34,58% 62, ,70 Withdrawed applications 5 10,87% ,33 5,54% ,33 5,74% 10, ,67 Terminated contracts 0 0,00% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 #DIV/0! Total contracted project's 25 54,35% ,08 45,13% ,08 46,74% 85, ,24 Realized projects and paid support 20 80,00% ,37 64,21% ,37 64,21% 54, ,77 Source: PAAFRD, 2016 There was total 46 applications with total investment over HRK 188 million, and requested support over HRK 182 million (support is up to 100%). 25 contracts were signed (projects approved) and 20 are realized with investment over HRK 54 million, with same paid support. The third call for the Measure 301 lasted from 19/03/2012 to 30/05/2012. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the table below. Table 19 - Third Call for IPARD measure 301 STATUS Source: PAAFRD, 2016 NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,28 100,00% ,28 100,00% 314, ,68 Refused 12 12,37% ,95 13,72% ,95 13,72% 43, ,50 Withdrawed applications 16 16,49% ,02 20,00% ,02 20,00% 62, ,25 Terminated contracts 0 0,00% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 #DIV/0! Total contracted project's 69 71,13% ,94 53,07% ,94 53,07% 167, ,42 Realized projects and paid support 37 53,62% ,35 37,36% ,35 37,36% 62, ,90

51 In the third call for measure 301 there were 97 applications with total investment over HRK 314 million, and requested support over HRK 314 million (support is up to 100%). 69 contracts were signed (projects approved) and 37 are realized with investment over HRK 62 million, with same paid support. There are still projects that are in process of realization so we can expect new realized projects from this call in 2016 (cut off day for IPARD is September 2016). Table 20 - Results of all calls for IPARD measure 301 STATUS Source: PAAFRD, 2016 NO. OF APPLICATIONS Graph 8 - Measure state of applications per sector PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,68 100,00% ,16 100,00% 755, ,98 Refused 81 38,57% ,68 41,60% ,10 40,26% 304, ,01 Withdrawed applications 22 10,48% ,35 9,54% ,35 9,92% 74, ,79 Terminated contracts 1 0,48% ,62 0,61% ,62 0,63% 4, ,62 Total contracted project's ,48% ,29 38,27% ,29 39,79% 300, ,26 Realized projects and paid support 66 62,26% ,97 47,13% ,97 47,13% 141, ,98 Source: MA,

52 First call for measure 302 lasted from 03/01/2011 to 31/03/2011. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the table below. -Table 21 - First Call for IPARD measure 302 STATUS Source: PAAFRD, 2016 In first call for measure 302 there was total 28 applications with total investment over HRK 24 million, and requested support over HRK 12 million. 15 contracts were signed (projects approved) and realized with investment over HRK 12 million, paid support of HRK 6 million. Second call lasted from 12/09/2011 to 31/10/2011. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the table below. Table 22 - Second Call for IPARD measure 302 Source: PAAFRD, 2016 NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,80 100,00% ,13 100,00% 12, ,00 Refused 10 35,71% ,31 26,63% ,66 27,11% 3, ,37 Withdrawed applications 0 0,00% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 #DIV/0! Terminated contracts 3 10,71% ,41 13,30% ,20 13,27% 1, ,40 Total contracted project's 15 53,57% ,41 58,26% ,69 58,12% 7, ,45 Realized projects and paid support ,00% ,29 88,34% ,63 88,34% 6, ,84 STATUS NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,35 100,00% ,39 100,00% 14, ,01 Refused 7 25,00% ,71 22,36% ,16 25,77% 3, ,17 Withdrawed applications 1 3,57% ,00 3,83% ,00 3,79% 0, ,00 Terminated contracts 1 3,57% ,11 3,44% ,55 3,40% 0, ,55 Total contracted project's 19 67,86% ,58 67,25% ,27 66,44% 9, ,54 Realized projects and paid support 14 73,68% ,01 66,82% ,49 66,82% 6, ,32

53 In second call for measure 302 there was total 28 applications with total investment over HRK 29 million, and requested support over HRK 14 million (grant is up to 50%, and no more than EUR , except for renewable energy projects). 19 contracts were signed (projects approved) and 14 realized with investment over HRK 13 million, and paid support of HRK 6.5 million. Third call lasted from 02/01/2012 to 29/02/2012. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the table below. Table 23 - Third Call for IPARD measure 302 STATUS Source: PAAFRD, 2016 NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,74 100,00% ,27 100,00% 20, ,38 Refused 9 25,71% ,34 20,38% ,67 20,81% 4, ,19 Withdrawed applications 10 28,57% ,83 26,73% ,67 26,33% 5, ,27 Terminated contracts 1 2,86% ,00 2,58% ,00 2,79% 0, ,00 Total contracted project's 15 42,86% ,25 45,98% ,62 49,76% 10, ,51 Realized projects and paid support 10 66,67% ,37 49,39% ,18 49,39% 5, ,02 In third call for measure 302 there was total 35 applications with total investment over HRK 44 million, and requested support over HRK 20 million. 15 contracts were signed (projects approved) and 10 realized with investment over HRK 10 million, and paid support of HRK 5 million

54 Fourth call lasted from 20/08/2012 to 31/12/2012. The results of implementation of this call are shown in the table below. Table 24 - Fourth Call for IPARD measure 302 STATUS Source: PAAFRD, 2016 NO. OF APPLICATIONS In fourth call for measure 302 there was total 238 applications with total investment over HRK 414 million, and requested support over HRK 192 million. Reason for this large number of application is long period of open call (over four months) and big interest in projects for rural tourism. 118 contracts were signed (projects approved) with total investment of HRK 154 million and total support of HRK 77 million. 28 projects are realized with investment over HRK 37 million, and paid support of HRK 18 million. Projects from this call are mainly still in process of realization so we can expect more realized and paid support. Table 25 - All Calls for IPARD measure 302 PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,82 100,00% ,55 100,00% 192, ,16 Refused 72 30,25% ,44 35,70% ,24 38,24% 73, ,55 Withdrawed applications 44 18,49% ,55 17,47% ,37 18,26% 35, ,14 Terminated contracts 4 1,68% ,62 0,84% ,30 0,91% 1, ,33 Total contacted project's ,58% ,73 37,26% ,83 40,12% 77, ,96 Realized projects and paid support 28 23,73% ,98 24,20% ,25 24,20% 18, ,97 STATUS NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,71 100,00% ,34 100,00% 239, ,30 Refused 98 29,79% ,80 33,18% ,73 35,41% 84, ,22 Withdrawed applications 55 16,72% ,38 16,65% ,04 17,11% 41, ,75 Terminated contracts 9 2,74% ,14 1,74% ,05 1,86% 4, ,23 Total contracted project's ,76% ,97 40,73% ,41 43,49% 104, ,77 Realized projects and paid support 67 40,12% ,65 35,07% ,55 35,08% 36, ,01 Source: PAAFRD,

55 Graph 9 - Measure state of applications per sector Source: MA, Progress in implementation of IPARD program Measure 501 Managing Authority signed the Agreement on cooperation in implementation of the Measure 501 Technical Assistance within IPARD Program with PAAFRD on 4 April That Agreement defined all mutual rights and obligations between Managing Authority and the Paying Agency regarding the measure implementation. After defined deficiencies, the new Agreement was signed in October As defined by the Agreement, MA had submitted the Action Plan of the implementation of the Measure Technical Assistance for 2013 to the Paying Agency. Planned activities as defined by the Action Plan for Technical Assistance were partly implemented and financed by the State budget of the Republic of Croatia in ARPA did the audit of the system for measures 202 and 501 during June, 2012 and the Operating structure received the national accreditation from the National authorizing officer on 27 June The result for measure 501 is shown on table below

56 Table 26 - Result of IPARD measure 501 STATUS Source: PAAFRD, 2016 NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT Applied projects ,00% ,86 100,00% ,86 100,00% 4, ,63 Refused 0 0,00% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 0,00% 0,00 0,00 Withdrawed applications 2 3,17% ,03 23,38% ,03 23,38% 0, ,52 Terminated contracts 1 1,59% 2.848,76 0,07% 2.848,76 0,07% 0, ,76 Total contracted project's 60 95,24% ,53 72,94% ,53 72,94% 3, ,23 Realized projects and paid subsidy ,00% ,14 88,95% ,14 88,95% 2, ,22 For measure 501 there was total 63 applications with total investment over HRK 4 million, and equal requested support (support is up to 100%). 60 contracts were signed (projects approved) and realized with total investment and total support of HRK 2.7 million

57 Results of all IPARD measures in Croatia Table 27 Overall results of all IPARD measures in Croatia till 02/02/2016 Source: PAAFRD, 2016 STATUS NO. OF APPLICATIONS PERCENTAGE TOTAL INVESTMENT PERCENTAGE APROVED SUPPORT (HRK) PERCENTAGE REQUESTED / CONTRACTED SUPPORT (HRK/ ) AVERAGE SUPPORT PER PROJECT All applied projects ,00% ,16 100,00% ,43 100,00% 2.397, , applayed ,86% ,99 38,20% ,59 33,08% 793, , applayed ,16% ,92 28,46% ,48 23,57% 564, , applayed ,70% ,68 19,53% ,16 31,52% 755, , applayed ,59% ,71 12,73% ,34 10,00% 239, , applayed 80 5,98% ,00 0,98% ,00 1,65% 39, , applayed 63 4,71% ,86 0,11% ,86 0,18% 4, , contracted ,54% ,50 51,81% ,02 52,46% 416, , contracted 77 56,62% ,99 63,32% ,53 64,16% 362, , contacted ,48% ,29 38,27% ,29 39,79% 300, , contracted ,76% ,97 40,73% ,41 43,49% 104, , contracted 42 52,50% ,00 100,00% ,00 100,00% 36, , contacted 60 95,24% ,53 72,94% ,53 72,94% 3, ,23 Total contracted project's ,70% ,28 51,46% ,78 51,04% 1.223, ,69 101/103 realized ,80% ,31 65,54% ,89 65,47% 509, , realized 66 62,26% ,97 47,13% ,97 47,13% 141, , realized 67 40,12% ,65 35,07% ,55 35,08% 36, , realized 41 97,62% ,29 68,08% ,29 68,08% 25, , realized ,00% ,14 88,95% ,14 88,95% 2, ,22 Realized projects with paid subsidy ,75% ,36 59,88% ,84 58,51% 715, ,48 Estimated value of avaliable founds in IPARD program and utilization of found ,00 51,09%

58 Table 28 - Paid support per year YEAR NUMBER OF RECEIVED APPLICATIONS Source: PAAFRD, 2016 NUMBER OF CONTRACTED APPLICATIONS CONTRACTED SUPPORT NUMBER OF PAID APPLICATIONS Graph 10 Percentage of total paid support versus total available IPARD funds PAID SUPPORT PAID SUPPORT VERSUS TOTAL AVAILABLE IPARD FUNDS NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES PAID SUPPORT PER EMPLOYEE , ,95 0,03% , , ,63 1,66% , , ,43 10,70% , , ,03 24,13% , , ,03 34,53% , , ,77 51,09% ,22 TOTAL , ,84 Source: Presentation from PAAFRD, Ante Pezo, 02/2016 (estimate for 2016.)

59 Average, maximum and minimum paid support In total there was 1338 applications on IPARD on all 20 calls in 6 different measures. There was 10 calls in measure 101/103, 3 calls for measure 301, 4 calls for measure 302, 2 calls for measure 202 and one call for measure 501. Most popular measure was 101 with 520 applications. If we know that there is more than 100,000 farmers in Croatia the number of 520 applications is rather low, and it indicates that about 0.5% of all farmers competed for this support. The results are even more worrying if we know that only 320 projects were contracted after all calls were completed. Total investment for all applied projects is HRK 4,023,707,381 with measure 101 as leading (HRK 1,537,046,825). Total requested support was HRK 2,397,274,250 and measure with biggest requested support was also 101 (HRK 793,072,988). Second measure with biggest requested support is measure 301. This is not unusual because in measure 301 maximum support is 100% per investment and in all other measures it is usually 50 % (up to 75 % in rare cases in measure 101). Average requested support is HRK 1,791,684 per project and biggest is in measure 103 (HRK 4,154,164). This is also not unusual because measure 103 is for processing primary agricultural products and investment in this sector are usually very high. Graph 11 - Contracted projects through all IPARD measures Source: PAAFRD, 2016 There were 772 contracted projects till cut off day for processing IPARD applications (October 2014) and till 02/02/2016 there is 523 realized projects with paid support. Investment of total contracted projects is HRK 2,070,584,010 with measure 101 as leading (HRK 796,336,171). Total contracted support is HRK 1,223,521,717 and also measure 101 is leading (HRK 416,083,141). We can conclude that measure 101 is leading one in contracting support because it has over 52 % of contracted support from required one. Average success in contracting

60 support is % which is rather low percentage. Average contracted support per project is HRK 1,584,872 with measure 103 as leading one (average contracted support in this measure is HRK 4,707,667). Graph 12 - Number of applications and contracted support Source: PAAFRD, 2016 Biggest contracted project was in measure 103, from investor OSTREA d.o.o. from Stankovci. Project was for investment in new building and equipment for processing plan for fishery sector. Total investment of this project was HRK 22,962, with requested support of HRK 11,481, Smallest project was from Ministry of agriculture in measure 501 with investment and requested support (100 % support) of only HRK In measure 101 and 103 smallest project was obrt NADA from Vivodina 15 (investment in mechanization for grape production) with investment of HRK 149, and requested support of HRK 74, Smallest contracted project in measure 301 was for county Sveti Lovreč with total investment and requested support of HRK 356, This project was for unclassified roads. Biggest project in measure 301 was for city Grubišno Polje with total investment and requested support of HRK 7,295, for investment in construction of waste water treatment plant. Smallest investment in measure 302 was for obrt Barić from Babna Greda with investment of HRK 124, and requested support of HRK 62, This project was for renewable energy plant. Biggest project in measure 302 was from investor Bioplin Rovišće d.o.o. with total investment of HRK 5,117, and requested support of HRK 2,558, This project is in biogas plant. 15 Obrt Nada is authors family business owned by authors mom

61 Graph 13 - Average support per project in HRK Source: PAAFRD, 2016 Of all contracted projects till 02/02/2016 there is 523 (67.75 %) realized projects with % paid support. Average paid support per project is HRK 1,368,846 and biggest average paid support is for measure 301 (HRK 2,147,188.98). Biggest paid support is in measure 103 for project of PPK Karlovačka mesna industrija d.d. from Karlovac with total investment of project of HRK 22,551, and paid support of HRK 11,275,500. Investment was in equipment for slaughterhouse and meat processing plant. Smallest paid support is equal to smallest contracted support. It is project from Ministry of agriculture in measure 501 with investment and requested support (100 % support) of only HRK Smallest project in measure 101 and 103 with paid support is from investor obrt ABC from Stanica Đakovačka. It is total investment of HRK 192, in measure 101 with paid support of HRK 96, Investment is in mechanization for farming. Biggest paid support in measure 301 was for project city of Kastav, investment in sewerage system, with total investment and paid support of HRK 6,372, Smallest project in measure 301 was for county Sveti Lovreč. It is the same project as mentioned before, as smallest contracted project for measure 301. Biggest paid support for project in measure 302 is for Moslavina Proizvodi d.o.o. from Čazma, for project in renewable energy with total investment of HRK 5,088,892.50, and paid support of HRK 2,544, Smallest project in measure 302 with paid support is for obrt Barić from Babna Greda with investment of HRK 123, and paid support of HRK 61,

62 Graph 14 - Percentage of realized project in number and value Source: PAAFRD, 2016 Total investment for all 523 realized projects within IPARD is HRK 1,239,801,885 with paid support of HRK 715,906,709. Total approved financial budget for IPARD is over EUR 184 million (period ) that is over HRK 1,400 million so we can conclude that total acquisition of available IPARD found is %. Graph 15 - Realized projects through the measures Source: PAAFRD,

63 Geographical distribution of IPARD program Croatian Paying Agency on day 15/09/2015 published IPARD summary with data of all contracted and paid support throughout 21 Croatian counties 16. Table 29 - All contracted and paid support throughout Croatian Counties NAME OF COUNTY Zagrebačka županija (01) TOTAL Krapinsko-zagorska (02) TOTAL Sisačko-moslavačka županija (03) TOTAL Karlovačka županija (04) TOTAL Varaždinska županija (05) TOTAL Koprivničko-križevačka županija (06) TOTAL Bjelovarsko-bilogorska županija (07) TOTAL Primorsko-goranska županija (08) TOTAL Ličko-senjska županija (09) TOTAL Virovitičko-podravska županija (10) TOTAL Požeško-slavonska županija (11) TOTAL Brodsko-posavska županija (12) TOTAL Zadarska županija (13) TOTAL Osječko-baranjska županija (14) TOTAL Šibensko-kninska županija (15) TOTAL Vukovarsko-srijemska županija (16) TOTAL Splitsko-dalmatinska županija (17) TOTAL Istarska županija (18) TOTAL Dubrovačko-neretvanska županija (19) TOTAL Međimurska županija (20) TOTAL Grad Zagreb (21) TOTAL TOTAL ALL COUNTIES NUMBER OF CONTRACTED PROJECTS Source: PAAFRD (on date 15/09/2015) CONTRACTED INVESTMENT (HRK) CONTRACTED SUBSIDY (HRK) NUMBER OF REALIZED PROJECTS PAID SUBSIDY (HRK) AVERAGE PAID SUBSIDY PER PROJECT (HRK) , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,90 From geographical distribution we can see that county with biggest number of contracts is Istrian County (Istarska županija) with 136 contracts, second best is Osijek-Baranja County (Osječko-baranjska županija) with 105 contracts. Least contracts, 5 were made in Šibenik-Knin 16 Source: (15/09/2015)

64 County (Šibensko-kninska županija), 6 in Lika-Senj County (Ličko-senjska županija) and 12 in Krapina-Zagorje County (Krapinsko zagorska županija). Biggest contracted support is also in Istrian County (Istarska županija) with HRK 180 million of, second best is Osijek-Baranja County (Osječko-baranjska županija) with HRK 176 million. Least contracted support was made in Šibenik-Knin County, (Šibensko-kninska županija) with HRK 3.4 million, second worst was Lika-Senj County (Ličko-senjska županija) with HRK 10.6 million and third worst was Krapina-Zagorje County (Krapinsko zagorska županija) with HRK 24.5 million. These trends are followed in number of paid projects, and total amount of paid support. In average paid support Split-Dalmatia County (Splitsko-dalmatinska županija) has biggest average paid support per project (HRK 3,565,175.88). Second one is Bjelovar-Bilogora County (Bjelovarsko-bilogorska županija) with 2,861, average paid support. Counties with smallest average paid support are Šibenik-Knin County, (Šibensko-kninska županija) with HRK ,47 per project and City of Zagreb with HRK 257, Graph 16 - Number of contracted projects per county Source: PAAFRD,

65 Graph 17 - Contracted investment per county Source: PAAFRD, 2016 Graph 18 - Contracted support per county Source: PAAFRD,

66 Graph 19 - Number of realized projects per county Source: PAAFRD, 2016 Graph 20 - Paid support per county Source: PAAFRD,

67 Graph 21 - Average paid support per project Source: PAAFRD,

68 Zapadno panonska Graph 22 - Regional statistic of IPARD projects Istočno panonska PAID SUPPORT (MIL HRK) NUMBER OF REALIZED PROJECTS CONTRACTED SUPPORT (MIL HRK) CONTRACTED INVESTMENT (MIL HRK) NUMBER OF CONTRACTED PROJECTS PAID SUPPORT (MIL HRK) NUMBER OF REALIZED CONTRACTED SUPPORT CONTRACTED INVESTMENT NUMBER OF CONTRACTED Primorsko istarska PAID SUPPORT (MIL HRK) NUMBER OF REALIZED PROJECTS CONTRACTED SUPPORT (MIL HRK) CONTRACTED INVESTMENT (MIL HRK) NUMBER OF CONTRACTED PROJECTS Gorska PAID SUPPORT (MIL HRK) NUMBER OF REALIZED CONTRACTED SUPPORT CONTRACTED INVESTMENT NUMBER OF CONTRACTED PAID SUPPORT (MIL HRK) NUMBER OF REALIZED PROJECTS CONTRACTED SUPPORT (MIL HRK) CONTRACTED INVESTMENT (MIL HRK) NUMBER OF CONTRACTED PROJECTS UKUPNO PAID SUPPORT (MIL HRK) NUMBER OF REALIZED PROJECTS CONTRACTED SUPPORT (MIL HRK) CONTRACTED INVESTMENT (MIL HRK) NUMBER OF CONTRACTED PROJECTS Sjeverno i južno dalmatinska Source: PAAFRD,