ZAGREB, November 6, 2020 - Parliament will debate the Homeland Movement's interpellation on the government's work in connection with the Krs-Padjene wind park project on Tuesday, Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic announced on Friday.

He said parliament would debate amendments to a revised 2020 state budget in the morning, then debate three bills, and begin a debate on the interpellation at 3 p.m. Voting will take place on Wednesday.

Parliament today added 13 items to the agenda, including a set of bills related to the fifth round of the tax reform and the interpellation submitted by the opposition Homeland Movement, which was backed by 20 other opposition MPs.

In the interpellation, they demand that the government submit to parliament all contracts and decisions concerning Krs-Padjene as well as all relevant decisions by the Energy and Environment Ministry and the Croatian Energy Regulatory Agency.

Citing calculations by experts they hired, the Homeland Movement claims that in 14 years Croatian consumers will pay HRK 2.2 billion more than they should under the price envisaged by law.

The government suggested that parliament reject the interpellation, while Economy Minister Tomislav Coric said all energy ministry decisions on the project from 2017 were adopted after consultation with the State Attorney's Office and that they were upheld in court in April 2019.

The Krs-Padjene project was launched in 2003 by an Austrian investor and taken over by the CEMP energy company in 2012. Institutions and ministries under a number of governments worked on it.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

ZAGREB, September 1, 2020 - Parliamentary party whips, both right and left wing, said on Tuesday they would honour the obligations regarding wearing masks in parliament, remote voting and a reduced number of MPs in the chamber, although some criticised how decisions were made.

Deputy Speaker and Homeland Movement president Miroslav Skoro told press that parliament's presidency "unanimously decided to introduce the obligation to wear masks during sittings at the advice of all experts, epidemiologists."

Asked what would happen if Homeland Movement MP Karolina Vidovic Kristo continued to refuse to wear a mask, Skoro said that if someone disregarded the obligation, "they will be removed from the sitting."

As for electronic voting, he said that since a number of MPs might end up in self-isolation, the functioning of parliament must be ensured.

Petrov: Bridge called for electronic voting six months ago

Bridge leader Bozo Petrov said he asked for electronic voting six months ago as well as for all parliamentary work to be possible online so that all MPs could participate in it.

That should be ensured for those who can't be in parliament because they are ill, though not just for voting but for debates too, he added.

"It makes no sense for parliament to change its Standing Orders, which are at the level of a law, according to measures proposed by the national COVID response team which have not been adopted in any way, nor did the team come to parliament to explain on the basis of which decisions, information and views it is adopting such measures."

A body created by the government is adopting measures which are not included in a law and then parliament, which should be a legislative body independent of the government, adopts those measures as a law under which we should all behave, Petrov said.

The way in which COVID measures are being adopted recalls "the dictatorship Croatia went through," he said. That's crazy and everyone should have the right to ask why and receive a well-argued response, not 'because I say so,' he added.

Petrov said the team should have come to parliament to explain why masks must be mandatory in a well-argued and scientific way, not provisorily and arbitrarily, and asked for MPs' confirmation.

Tomasevic: We support presidency's measures

The leader of the We Can! platform, Tomislav Tomasevic, said his parliamentary group supported the measures established by parliament's presidency, including the obligation for MPs to wear masks.

He added, however, that a political debate on the legal aspect of the COVID response team's decisions which restricted human rights was legitimate.

Social Democratic Party whip Arsen Bauk said their group had no problem with the obligation to wear masks in parliament, remote voting or the reduced number of MPs in the chamber due to COVID measures.

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ZAGREB, September 1, 2020 - Wearing face masks in the Parliament chamber will be mandatory as of Wednesday, and not more than 41 MPs will be allowed to attend per session, Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic said on Tuesday after a meeting of the Parliament Presidency.

"We have decided that masks will be mandatory for plenary sessions, and we will strictly abide by this. This will no longer be a recommendation, but an obligation," Jandrokovic told the press, stressing that the decision was made unanimously.

He said that the decision was made in accordance with the recommendations of the Croatian Public Health Institute and medical organisations because of the current epidemiological situation and the fact that one MP was positive for the coronavirus.

Any MP not wearing a face mask will first be cautioned by the chairperson and if they refuse to put it on, they will be asked to leave or face being escorted out by security. "We will not be aggressive, but we must protect MPs' health. We will not wear masks just for our own sake, but to protect others as well," Jandrokovic said.

The new parliament will return to the work regime that had been in place during the previous parliament, that is only 41 of 151 MPs plus the chairperson will be allowed to attend per session.

This number was arrived at by dividing the number of members of each political group by four, as a result of which the ruling HDZ party will be entitled to have 16 MPs present, the Social Democrats nine, the Homeland Movement three, Bridge and the green-left bloc two each, and the other groups one each.

"In that way we will ensure a sufficient physical distance," Jandrokovic said, adding that the option of electronic voting would also be used.

Parliament begins an extraordinary sitting on Wednesday which will last until the end of next week, while it will sit regularly as of September 16.

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ZAGREB, July 31, 2020 - After appointing about 20 of its committees and delegations, the new Croatian Parliament concluded its first session on Friday and adjourned until early September.

The second, extraordinary session has been scheduled for 2 September.

"I wish you all the best and see you soon," Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic told lawmakers.

The Croatian parliament regularly sits between 15 January and 15 July and between 15 September and 15 December. Any sittings outside these dates are referred to as extraordinary.

ZAGREB, July 31, 2020 - The Croatian parliament on Friday adopted the report on the activities and results of the Croatian presidency of the Council of the European Union and the prime minister's report on the July 17-21 emergency EU summit. 

Both reports were backed by the ruling majority parties, which command 76 seats in the 151-member legislature.

Presenting the report on the EU summit, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic highlighted the fact that Croatia had won a considerable package of financial aid both under the Multiannual Financial Framework and under the new economic recovery instrument called Next Generation EU, adding that this would have "far-reaching consequences for our economic development, social cohesion as well as for the progress of Croatia and the European Union."

"We are talking about €1.824 trillion, of which Croatia will have access to over €22 billion, or HRK 165 billion, over the next four and seven years respectively," Plenkovic said, noting that this was double the amount made available to Croatia in the 2014-2020 period.

Plenkovic said that this was one of the largest amounts per capita "which will ensure that for each euro invested we get more than 4.5 euros from the EU budget."

Presenting the report on the Croatian presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of the year, Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said that this was the crown of Croatia's European journey and a historic moment.

The first Croatian presidency took place at a time of two unpredictable crises - migrant pressure and the COVID-19 pandemic in which "Croatia has successfully adapted," the minister said.

He also mentioned a strong earthquake that struck Zagreb on March 22. "It was the first time that the capital of a presiding country had been hit by an earthquake," Grlic Radman noted.

ZAGREB, July 29, 2020 - The Croatian Parliament unanimously appointed its Defence Committee on Wednesday, choosing Franko Vidovic (SDP) as chair and Mladen Stricak (HDZ) as deputy chair. 

The committee has 10 members, including five from the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), one from the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), three from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and one from the Croatian Sovereignists.

The appointment of the Defence Committee was necessary so that it could state its opinion on the participation of the Croatian armed forces in the peacekeeping operation Sea Guardian in the Mediterranean. Croatia would contribute 35 personnel to the operation.

The new Parliament has so far chosen the committees on the constitution, legislation, European affairs, finance, construction, and selection and appointments. The remaining committees will be appointed on Friday.

ZAGREB, July 23, 2020 - The Croatian parliament opened its session on Thursday with demands by opposition groups for an hour-long break to allow them to study the programme of the new government before discussing it and voting on it.

After nearly all opposition groups voiced their satisfaction because they had been presented with the programme of the new government less than an hour before the discussion, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic approved a 15-minute break.

He said that the programme could not have been distributed before Wednesday evening because Parliament adopted a law on the new government only then.

"The programme was distributed this morning, but it will be presented by the prime minister-designate and you will be able to hear what has to say," Jandrokovic said in response to objections from opposition MPs.

Not good practice

Milan Vrkljan of the Homeland Movement said that it was not good practice for the opposition to be presented with the programme half an hour before the discussion. He warned that the opposition might agree during the break not to take part in further discussion.

The late distribution of the government programme was criticised by the Social Democratic Party, the green-left coalition, Bridge, the SSIP, Pametnto and GLAS group and the Croatian Sovereignists.

Programme presented during election campaign

Branko Bacic of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) said that the government's programme was the programme with which the HDZ had won the election and that it had been expanded to include projects proposed by its coalition partners.

Bacic said that the opposition had had enough time to study the programme because it was presented on a daily basis during the election campaign. "I see this as a performance and not as a serious complaint," Bacic said.

ZAGREB, July 22, 2020 - The founding meeting of the new, 10th parliament began on Wednesday morning with the election of Gordan Jandrokovic as the speaker of this 151-seat legislature.

The proposal by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) to nominate Jandrokovic for this post was supported by 143 newly-elected deputies, with one abstention, and there were no votes against the motion.

Gordan Jandrokovic of the ruling HDZ, who was at the helm of the 9th parliament, continues performing this duty in the new legislature, and he is the first parliament speaker to be appointed to this position for two successive terms. Jandrokovic, born in 1967 in Bjelovar, has won a seat in six parliamentary elections to date. He was also a foreign minister and a deputy prime minister and has held other positions since 1992.

The founding session was held in the Parliament Hall with the implementation of the epidemiological measures, which was why parliamentarians wore masks and kept a social distance.

During the 5 July parliamentary polls, Croatia elected 151 deputies of whom 34 are women and 117 are men.

In the new parliament, the youngest deputy is a 30-year-old Marina Opacak-Bilic of the SDP party, and the oldest deputy is HDZ parliamentarian Miroslav Tudjman, 74.

ZAGREB, May 18, 2020 - Croatian Parliament on Monday revised the state budget for this year with 79 votes for and 41 against after all the amendments submitted by the opposition had been rejected.

The revised budget decreased revenue by HRK 23.2 billion to HRK 122 billion while overall expenditure will remain at HRK 147.3 billion.

The decreased revenue in the state budget is due to measures taken in the fight against the coronavirus with the deferment or absolute exemption of taxation and contributions as well as decreased economic activity.

The government has estimated that GDP this year will fall by 9.4%. The 2020 budget was prepared on the presumption that economic growth will be 2.5%.

The budget revision takes into consideration the last available information related to budget revenue.

The consequence of the coronavirus epidemic became evident mid-April, affecting finances like never before. For more than two weeks in April, revenue from Value Added Tax (VAT) not only recorded a decrease but was negative in absolute numbers, which means that VAT returns were greater than revenue, which is usually the most plentiful tax income for the state.

The situation improved toward the end of April. However, in that month alone tax revenue decreased by 43.2 percent compared to the same period last year while contributions were 20% lower.

The budget revision foresees tax revenue in the amount of HRK 66 billion which is HRK 18.1 billion less than the original budget had to forecast.

The government says the strongest message of the budget revision is that expenditure would remain at HRK 147.3 billion despite pressure to increase spending.

The biggest nominal decrease in budget funds due to the revision will be felt by the ministries of the sea, environment, science and economy.

The only ministries to benefit from the revision and will feel an increase are the Labor Ministry (+HRK 4.75 billion), the Health Ministry with an increase of HRK 93.7 million, and the Ministry of Agriculture with an increase of HRK 47.5 million.

ZAGREB, March 24, 2020 - The Croatian parliament will hold its sessions in the historic building of INA oil company given the damage Parliament House has suffered in earthquakes this past Sunday, and its members will discuss two government bills on Wednesday.

One is a bill to amend the Electronic Communications Act to facilitate access to information on persons violating self-isolation orders in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic.

The government proposes that the law be amended so as to include an article under which in extraordinary situations the health minister would be authorised to ask telecommunications companies to provide data on users' terminal equipment locations without transfer data. In practice, this means that the location of each person in self-isolation who has a mobile phone with them would be known, so it would be known whether they are violating self-isolation orders.

The law has so far stipulated that the data can only be used with the user's permission, which would no longer be necessary. According to the bill, the health minister may make the request when the government has declared a natural disaster or state of catastrophe, or when the minister has declared an infectious disease epidemic or a threat of an epidemic, and in such cases the purpose of the measure is protection of national and/or public safety.

The parliament originally planned to convene in the Zagreb City Hall in the Upper Town, but the decision was changed after statics expert assessed the building's safety and stability.

"We want to minimise the risk and go somewhere where we will be able to work safely", Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said when asked why the parliament 'was returning' to INA's building.

The Croatian parliament held its historic session in that building on October 8, 1991, when it decided to sever all ties with Yugoslavia. The decision was made the day after Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) planes attacked the Banski Dvori (government headquarters) and MPs had to leave the building for their safety.

The parliament said that due to coronavirus protection measures, sessions would be attended by two members of each party group, while the voting would be done by a show of hands.

The session will be broadcast live by the Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) on its HRT4 channel, and it will also be transmitted on the parliament's web page and YouTube channel.

Only reporters, cameramen and photographers permanently accredited by the Croatian parliament will be able to enter INA's building. All of them have to follow instructions by the National Civil Protection Authority and the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ), that is, keep a distance of at least two metres from others and wear protective masks and gloves.

More coronavirus news can be found in the Lifestyle section.