Gov't sends water management bills to parliament

Zagreb - The government sent three final bills to parliament related to the water management sector that are aimed at achieving efficiency of public water suppliers and setting conditions for equalising prices for each service area.

Environment and Energy Minister Tomislav Ćorić said that the bills will set the conditions to integrate 190 existing water suppliers into one single public supplier in an effort to achieve efficiency in business operations.

Ćorić said this will set the conditions for the price of water to be the same in a defined service area and ensure a comprehensive economical regulation of the price of water, which is aimed at preventing a monopoly and high tariffs, but also underpriced tariffs, and at keeping water services in the public sector.

These reform measures will strengthen the implementing and investment capacities of water suppliers with a view to increasing the efficiency of all investments in the water sector. They will also secure financial stability and self-sustainability of water suppliers, without any further need for support from local government for regular business operations, as well as strengthen their capacities in the realisation of agglomeration projects, Ćorić underscored.

The government also adopted a regulation on the lease of state-owned forest land to enable small businesses and family farms to lease said land more easily, said Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolušić.