ZAGREB, 23 March 2022 - Independent MP Hrvoje Zekanović said on Wednesday an agreement on the reform of the election law in Bosnia and Herzegovina should be reached "at any cost," warning that the current status quo was detrimental to the Croats in that country.
"I call on Croatian diplomats to get involved as actively as possible in those processes... otherwise the status quo will persist. It suits Serbs to some extent, it definitely suits Bosniaks but it does not suit Croats," he said.
"Croats have been caught in the crossfire of Serb separatism and Bosniak unitarism," he said, pointing the finger at Bosniak leader Bakir Izetbegović as the person responsible for the failure of talks on the election reform.
Social Democrat MP: New minister's statements worrying
Davor Bernardić of the Social Democrats warned about "worrying" statements by the new Construction Minister Ivan Paladina that the post-earthquake reconstruction could last six years, that consolidation of public procurement was being considered and that he would insist on a new invitation for applications for the post of director of the Fund for Reconstruction of Zagreb, even though applications have already been invited and candidates who meet the terms have applied.
"The question is why the minister will insist on inviting applications anew", Bernardić said, adding, "Probably because he wants to choose a crony with whom to arrange public procurement."
Bridge MP Miro Bulj commented on unofficial information that there were no traces of explosives on the fragments of a military drone that crashed in Zagreb on 10 March, criticising the government for its conduct in that situation.
"... this is not a situation where you go masquerading as a soldier, this is a time when national security and economy are threatened," he said alluding to Defence Minister Mario Banožić.
Speaking about inflation, Social Democratic Party (SDP) MP Siniša Hajdaš Dončić said that small and medium businesses were receiving information that the price of electricity would be 300-400% higher as of 1 May, with the official inflation rate, measured by the consumer prices index, standing at 6.3% in February, while the perceived inflation was 24%.
Emil Daus of the Istrian Democratic Party and Marijana Puljak of Centre/GLAS called for greater assistance to Ukrainian refugees, who have been arriving in increasing numbers.
Daus warned that there were not enough interpreters and called for activating all available personnel resources, as well as exempting associations that deliver humanitarian aid from paying road tolls, while Puljak called on the Finance Ministry to not collect income tax from persons who provide accommodation to the refugees free of charge.
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