MPs vote against forming COVID inquiry commission

Zagreb - The parliament rejected on Friday a proposal by 17 opposition MPs to establish a commission of inquiry on the work of the national COVID-19 crisis management team.

A total of 105 MPs voted against the formation of the commission, nine voted in favour, and 11 abstained in the 151-seat national legislature.

This initiative was launched by the Bridge party. The commission was supposed to determine potential wrongdoing, undue influences, favouritism, and political pressures on the work of the team and other competent institutions during the pandemic.

The commission was also supposed to determine the procurement of vaccines and the reasons behind the government's decisions to exempt the procurement of medical equipment and services from the Public Procurement Act and classify it as confidential.

The commission was also to investigate the scientific basis on which the team made decisions to restrict movement at the beginning of the pandemic, the decision to switch to online learning, and which institutions assessed the quantities of vaccines to be procured.

A proposal by independent MP Marija Selak Raspudić to adopt a resolution on artificial intelligence for stricter control and regulation of AI also did not pass.

Her proposed amendments to the Construction Act, which aimed to impose stricter penalties on supervising engineers to combat illegal construction, also did not receive majority support.