Croatian shipyard restructure race to join EU

Croatian Deputy Prime Minister Damir Polancec has announced that, with the goal of joining the European Union by 2010, the Croatian government will focus on restructuring the country's shipbuilding industry over the next two months.

The government hopes the restructuring plans of all five state-owned shipyards will be delivered to Brussels by the end of June, and that the entire process will be completed by 2011. Plans for restructuring will include a timetable and cost forecast for each of the shipyards, to prove that once the process is over, they will be capable of functioning independently in the market. Shipbuilding forms a crucial part of employment in Croatia, with the five shipyards employing some 11,500 people. A further 30,000 people are employed in industry-related jobs in a nation of 4.4 million people.

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