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

officers and a further 12 Croatian police assistants, 10 internationals and 10locals in each of the 12 stations .The presence of monitors was a stabilising influence during the transition fromoccupation . They were present in stations and participated in theinvestigations of the police . However, that mission closed on 31 October,2000 and now there are only two monitors left, the role of the field office beingto advise and assist and not monitoring .This county was considered economically prosperous from the time of theAustro-Hungarian period . The services sector dominates the economy .Economic change has brought with it social change and the traditional ruralexistence is disappearing . Women are entering the labour force and familylife is deteriorating . The people who have tertiary education migrate, theeffect being felt particularly in the small villages .Vukovar County has the highest rate of unemployment in Croatia . Themassive rate of unemployment is also an indication that there exists asignificant grey economy, which has been estimated at about 25% of alleconomic activity in Croatia .One of 15 OSCE activities is to provide economic advice . The capacity of themission to assist is good . The 3 main areas of possible involvement are goodgovernance, infrastructure and energy .A number of economic forums and round-table discussion have been hostedat county levels to address these issues .A database of business and companies, chambers of commerce, universityand other learning institutions is being prepared and it will soon be possible tocreate a useful database that investors can access .OSCE has also been involved in encouraging and stimulating cross-countyagreements for co-operation which includes sister-county relationship withcounties in Rumania, BiH and Vojvodina .Travel Report, Hon. Michael Atkinson, MP . and Ms. Vini Ciccarello MP., August, 2004 6 1