Better Regulation Practices across the European Union 2025

Croatia

Overview

Croatia has introduced a well-developed regulatory impact assessment (RIA) system, requiring policymakers to assess a broad range of impacts for all primary laws from the early stages. Subordinate regulations, while currently not subject to RIA, must undergo an SME Test. The government has invested significantly in promoting the practical implementation of RIA, with the Government Legislation Office (GLO) developing guidelines and launching training initiatives for government officials. The 2024 Law on Better Regulatory Policy Instruments (BRPI Law) which repealed the 2017 RIA Law, aims at simplifying the RIA procedure for all primary laws. However, the repeal of the threshold determining whether full RIA is required potentially undermines proportionality. Since 2018, policymakers must conduct a post-implementation review to evaluate whether primary laws that were exempted from RIA are achieving their objectives, using the RIA methodology. The BRPI Law also introduced a new methodology for ex post evaluation (EPE). State administration bodies are encouraged to apply it on a voluntary basis, whilst Government and Parliament can task them to conduct EPEs of existing primary laws.

Croatia continues to engage stakeholders by publishing drafts of major laws and regulations on the online consultation platform, e-Savjetovanja, for 30-days. The body drafting the regulation publicly responds to all comments received. Policymakers also engage with stakeholders at early stages through ad hoc working groups that include representatives from civil society, businesses, and academia. Since 2018, early-stage engagement has extended to the general public through online consultations albeit non-systematically.

The GLO, located at the centre of government, is responsible for co-ordinating regulatory policy. Its mandate includes quality control of ex post evaluations and oversight of stakeholder engagement, including the management of the central consultation portal. The GLO reviews the quality of RIAs and provides support and training to ministries during the process. It also publishes yearly reports on the performance of the RIA system. The Ministry of Economy is responsible for the SME Test for subordinate regulations and checks the quality of the SME Tests included in the RIA. The Ministry also provides guidance and training on the SME Test to civil servants.

In focus: Recent developments and next steps

In January 2024, the BRPI Law entered into force, which aims to improve and consolidate legislative planning, RIA, ex post evaluation, and stakeholder engagement. The BRPI Law also envisages requirements to conduct RIA on those subordinate regulations that are enacted by the Government as a whole, with implementation pending.1 As next steps, Croatia would benefit from broadening the scope of RIA as well as ex post evaluation to include all or major subordinate regulations with substantial impacts on the economy, citizens or the environment.

Indicators of Regulatory Policy and Governance (iREG): Croatia

Note: The more regulatory practices as advocated in the OECD Recommendation on Regulatory Policy and Governance a country has implemented, the higher its iREG score. The indicators on stakeholder engagement and RIA for primary laws only cover those initiated by the executive (99% of all primary laws in Croatia). Transparency is one of the four dimensions that underpin each of the composite indicators on stakeholder engagement, RIA and ex post evaluation. The transparency score presents the aggregate of that dimension across the three indicators. More information can be found in the Reader’s Guide.

Source: OECD Indicators of Regulatory Policy and Governance (iREG).

Croatia: Regulating for…

People	Identify likely distributional effects when designing rules
	Assess impacts on different age groups when designing rules
	Assess impacts on social groups when designing rules
	Provide mechanisms for the public to give feedback on existing rules ▲
Planet	Assess impacts on the environment when designing rules
	Assess the social costs of carbon emissions when designing rules
	Assess the social costs of carbon emissions when reviewing rules
	Focus on environmental sustainability when reviewing rules ▲
Future	Address innovation-related challenges when designing rules, e.g. with increased agility or flexibility ▲
	Co-ordinate cross-government to identify regulatory issues related to innovation ▲
	Use data-driven approaches to monitor the impacts of rules ▲
	Address innovation-related challenges when reviewing rules ▲
Effectiveness	Identify a process for assessing progress in achieving regulatory goals
	Base inspection and enforcement activities on risk criteria ■
	Have regulation or policy on risk-based inspections ▲
	Identify unintended consequences of rules

All primary laws/ ▲ Yes ■ Required ● Yes, there is a regulation and a policy

Major primary laws/ ● Yes, there is a regulation

Some primary laws/ ■ Not required but allowed ● Yes, there is a policy

Never/ ▲ No ■ Not allowed

Note: The data reflects Croatia’s practices regarding primary laws initiated by the executive.

Source: OECD Indicators of Regulatory Policy and Governance (iREG) 2024.

Note

← 1.  These provisions are planned to become effective upon Croatia’s accession to the OECD.