Calling on the croatian government to consult civil society on eu and internal affairs

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The EU-Croatia Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), a joint body of Croatian and EU civil society, which was created to monitor Croatia’s accession to the EU, held its 13th and last meeting in Zagreb on 18 June 2013. At that meeting the JCC was informed of the open letter to the Croatian Government and…

Croatia stagnating in democratic development

epa03621518 A Member of the European Parliament raise his hand in a voting during the plenary session in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 13 March 2013. The European Parliament rejected the compromise of EU governments for the financial planning of the European Union until 2020. EPA/PATRICK SEEGER

Freedom House, the US non-governmental organisation, has given Croatia the same scores as last year in its “Nations in Transit 2013” report on democratic development in 29 Central European and Eurasian countries. Croatia’s average democracy score is 3.61, indicating a stagnation in democratic development. Nonetheless, it remains the best ranked country in the Balkans, followed…

Government should report to parliament more often

Zagreb, 18.06.2013 - Održana sjednica Odbora za Ustav, Poslovnik i politièki sustav. Na slici Peða Grbin. foto FaH/ Denis CERIÆ/ ik

Opposition members in the parliamentary Committee on the Constitution and Standing Orders are generally satisfied with the legislation that obliges the prime minister and the government to report more frequently than was originally proposed to the Croatian Sabor and the European Affairs Committee concerning European Union issues, notably on European Council meetings. The Committee on…

Where do social partners and citizens fit in?

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This address is related to the current parliamentary debate on the long awaited Draft Law on Cooperation between Croatian Parliament and the Government in European Affairs to which we submitted detailed comments during the public consultations process, held last month by the European Integrations Committee of the Croatian Parliament. However, none of our comments have…

Parliament discusses new Standing Orders

Zagreb, 11.04.2013 - Nastavak 8. sjednice Hrvatskog sabora. Na slici sabornica prije poèetka sjednice. foto FaH/ Denis CERIÆ/ ik

The new Standing Orders that regulate the work of the parliament in European affairs and introduces several novelties in relations between executive and legislative government was presented to lawmakers in Croatia’s Sabor for a first reading.   The Standing Orders were proposed by the parliamentary Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System and should…

Opposition says bill minimises parliament’s role

Zagreb, 07.06.2013 - Nastavak zasjedanja Hrvatskog sabora. Na slici potpredsjednica Sabor Dragica Zgrebec i potpredsjednik Sabora Nenad Staziæ. foto FaH/ Denis CERIÆ /dc

The parliamentary opposition was unanimous on Wednesday in the position that a bill on cooperation between the government and parliament in European affairs minimised parliament’s role in relation to the government and criticised government representatives for not attending today’s discussion on the bill. Zeljko Reiner of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) said the executive authority…