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V. EXAMPLES AND BEST PRACTICES IN EU LAW
TRANSPOSITION IN THE MEMBER STATES

1. CROATIA
Croatia started its process of harmonisation of its national legislation
with EU Acquis in 2000. After signing the Stabilisation and Association
Agreement (SAA) in 2001, Croatia took the obligation to ensure that
its existing laws and future legislation will be gradually made compat-
ible with EU Acquis, focusing on fundamental elements of the Internal
Market Acquis as well as on other trade-related areas (Article 69 of the
SAA). Following this legal obligation, Croatian Government adopted on
a yearly basis a National Programme for the Accession to EU setting the
priorities in the process of legal approximation, reßecting all obligations
from the SAA implementation, and later from the accession negotiations.

Now as a Member State, Croatia is building on the experience gained
in the pre-accession period in order to stay on track in transposition
and timely and proper implementation of newly adopted EU Acquis.
In this chapter a short overview of the tools, methods and examples of
transposition of EU Acquis in Croatia will be presented.

In June 2010 Croatia Parliament amended the Croatian Constitution to
enable implementation of obligations steaming from EU membership. The
Article on European Union Law was inserted prescribing that the exercise
of the rights ensuing from the EU Acquis shall be made equal to the exer-
cise of rights under Croatian law. All the legal acts and decisions accepted
by the Republic of Croatia in European Union institutions shall be applied
in Croatia in accordance with the EU Acquis. Croatian courts shall protect
subjective rights based on the EU Acquis. Governmental agencies, bodies
of local and regional self-government and legal persons vested with public
authority shall apply European Union law directly (Article 145 of the Con-
stitution). This Article represents the legal basis for transposition and im-
plementation of EU law in accordance with basic principles of EU Acquis.

Instruments for legal approximation in Croatia
Instruments used to harmonise legislation of Croatia with the EU Acquis
have been part of Croatia’s legislative procedure since 1 December 2001

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