Croatia's decision to activate EFPZ to EU members takes effect

The decision which the Croatian Parliament made in mid-December 2006 that the activation of the Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone (EFPZ) to all European Union member states will start on 1 January 2008 at the latest, takes effect on Tuesday, 1 January.

Four years ago, the Sabor declared the EFPZ stating that its implementation would begin in October 2004.

The activation of Croatia's EFPZ to EU member states was postponed on a few occasions.

On 1 January 2008, the application of the EFPZ towards EU member states starts automatically in light of the fact that the new sixth Croatian parliament has not yet been constituted, while the current cabinet led by Ivo Sanader, which is the interim government, has not adopted any steps which may have changed the relevant decision of the fifth parliament.

On 3 October 2003, following an initiative launched by the coalition government led by SDP chief Ivica Racan, the Croatian Parliament passed a decision on declaring the Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone (EFPZ) in the Adriatic, which means the expansion of Croatia's jurisdiction over the sea.

On that occasion, the Sabor decided that the EFPZ would be activated in 12 months' time but with the further postponement regarding the EU member states.

Under the decision, the EFPZ is a marine area in which states are entitled to rights, stipulated by the international law, regarding the freedom of navigation, overflights and the setting of submarine cables and pipelines as well as other uses of the sea.

This zone covers the marine area stretching from the outer border of the territorial waters to the delimitation line, which is the median line.

The Croatian parliament also declared contents of an exclusive economic zone in reference to sovereign rights to carry out research and exploration, protect and manage the living natural resources in the seas outside the outer border of the territorial waters and in reference to the jurisdiction over scientific research and preservation of the marine environment.

In late October 2004, the Croatian Foreign Affairs Ministry notified the UN Secretariat about Croatia's expansion of its jurisdiction over the Adriatic in compliance with the national parliament's declaration.

According to the Croatian Hydrographic Institute, the area included into the EFPZ under Croatia's sovereign rights is 23,870 square kilometers large.

The entire area of land and sea under Croatia's jurisdiction is 87,967 square kilometers large.

The mainland without islands is 53,229 square kilometers large, the internal waters 12,498 square kilometers, while territorial waters cover 18,981 square kilometers. The surface area of islands is 3,259 square kilometers. (Hina)

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