Babic: Croatian maritime industry ready for EU entry

The Croatian maritime industry has met all the requirements of the European Commission and is ready for admission to the European Union where the Croatian shippers will still be able to get government subsidies, State Secretary for Maritime Affairs capt. Mario Babic said at a press conference in the coastal city of Zadar on Thursday, held to mark European Maritime Day.

"It is a great success of the Croatian maritime industry that in the EU accession process we have managed to win a delay in the application of cabotage for the liner shipping operators (until 31 December 2016) and the pleasure boats (until 31 December 2014). After a long time on the grey list, the Croatian flag is on the white list of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding this year, whereby the closing benchmarks for the closure of Chapter 14 -- Transport Policy -- in EU accession negotiations are met," Babic said, adding that the quality of ships under the Croatian flag had improved.

By the end of the year, Croatia will have established a maritime transport monitoring and management system which will help increase the security of navigation and the protection of the Adriatic, Babic said.

He added that 10 radar stations, whose purchase was co-funded by the European Union, would be installed for that purpose.

Babic said that progress had been made in the modernisation of the Croatian fleet, adding that shippers would receive up to 240 million kuna by 2012 for the construction of 11 vessels. He said that the same number of ships had been built during the term of the present government for the passenger fleets of the Jadrolinija and Rapska Plovidba shipping companies.

The government has co-financed the construction and reconstruction of 44 vessels operated by small shipping lines, and will continue to pay them grants for the difference in fuel prices so that they can be competitive in the European Union, he said.

Babic said that work was under way on the construction and modernisation of infrastructure in Croatian ports, worth 540 million euros. He announced investment in the construction of fishing ports by redirecting about 53 million kuna of unused money deposited in the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development, left over from the programme for the reconstruction and modernisation of the fishing fleet.


(Hina)