TRAVEL REPORT The Hon. Michael Atkinson MP Attorney-General ...

The Attorney-General commended Croatia for being co-operative saying . thisco-operation is appreciated and the international community is aware of theexcellent work being done . Mr Bakota thanked the delegates and pointed outthat there were a number of excellent Australian lawyers in I .C.T.Y., GrahamBlewett and David Hunt being two very impressive examples . Most of thetrials were heard in third countries . However, there had recently been anexception, where an accused by The Hague was dealt with in a CroatianCourt .The delegation was told that Croatia is trying to set up a framework of anenvironment which encourages international investment and these are anumber of important examples which are being considered :1 . Setting up one stop shop agencies, based on the Irish model . Oneagency/office will be set up in each country which will deal withinvestors . These offices will be able to do everything needed toeffectuate investment/approvals etc . Currently, an investor has to dealwith about ten different agencies and they want to speed up the wholeprocess2 . Establishing Zones of investment and tax free zones and establishingnetworks and cooperation between Regional areas and FederalGovernment to enter into partnership .3 . Entry to the E .U ., which will necessitate major reforms of theadministrative and legal system . Banking regulations, for instance, willneed to be completely reviewed and adjusted .Croatia is entering into bilateral agreements to ease movement betweenCroatia and countries where the Diaspora lives . The social securityagreement between Croatia and Australia is an excellent example, andcurrently there are negotiations of agreement in the areas on health andinsurance .Ms Ciccarello asked about the process of resettlement and was told thatCroatia hosted 800,000 dispossessed people from BiH during the war andthey are all considered to have equal rights . A problem exists for Croatianrefugees in BiH and there are also some problems for Croatians in BiH notbeing given the right to go back to their place of origin .The political representatives of the Serb minority in Croatia support H .D.Z .One of the promises following the recent election was the commitment toreturn the Serbs to their homes . Croatia is embarking on a building programto address these problems by offering new houses to people whose homesare occupied by . Everything was still in the process of transition .The parts of Croatia which suffered most during the war are in need of moreinvestment and part of the solution is to encourage more economic activity inthese areas .Travel Report, Hon. Michael Atkinson, MP . and Ms. Vini Ciccarello M.P., August, 2004 40