Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko said on Monday that Parliament could, despite the summer recess prescribed by the Constitution, hold an extraordinary session given that Croatia, as an EU member state, should promptly react to initiatives from the European Union or the government concerning EU affairs.
Earlier today, parliament wrapped up its 8th session and given that the Constitution prescribes a summer recess starting from 15 July, Leko told Croatian Radio that given that Croatia as a member of the EU was taking part in the activities of EU bodies, he could not claim with certainty that an extraordinary session would not be convened during the summer recess.
“I am more inclined to believe that an extraordinary session will be convened rather than that it won’t, but we have respected all constitutional provisions and worked until 15 July as the Constitution prescribes,” Leko told Croatian Radio, adding it was “important to prepare parliament to be able to promptly react to initiatives from the EU or the government regarding European affairs.
Leko said that during the 8th session, parliament had done “a very important and valuable job.” “It has met its own expectations and the expectations of the EU. We tried to find solutions that would enable Croatia to participate in the EU on an equal footing, we tried to make decisions that would secure a more organised state, a more just system which is expected to bring changes to Croatia’s economy this year,” Leko said.
Commenting on the fact that the parliamentary Committee on the Constitution rejected the initiative to amend the Constitution to ensure that there was no statute of limitations on politically-motivated crimes, Leko reiterated his party’s (Social Democrats) position on it.
“I believe we should continue to insist on it because it is both a moral and a legal issue. Since we have adopted a law on cooperation with other countries in legal matters, then it is very important to approach this issue so that there would be no statute of limitations on politically-motivated crimes,” Leko said.