Zagreb - The parliamentary opposition on Wednesday called for the withdrawal of bills on spatial planning, construction and energy efficiency in buildings, arguing the spatial planning bill infringes the constitutional rights of local authorities, a claim the ruling majority rejected.
MP Mirela Ahmetović (SDP) said the bills were "unrealistic and harmful" and "cannot be improved or fixed", calling for entirely new drafts. She argued they violate the Constitution and the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which guarantees local control over spatial planning, and warned they would enable the seizure of citizens' land and make way for private interests.
Bridge MP Ante Kujundžić described the package as dangerous improvisation that would create even more disorder.
IDS MP Dalibor Paus said the spatial planning bill significantly encroaches on the constitutionally defined powers of local government.
MP Sandra Benčić (We Can!) said the bills would enable the "devastation of space and the profession" and constitute an unconstitutional intervention in local planning powers, benefiting big business at the expense of citizens and future generations.
MP Tomislav Klarić of the ruling HDZ rejected claims of centralisation, saying local authorities would not be stripped of powers. He said projects must meet three conditions: alignment with spatial plans, inclusion in locally drafted affordable housing plans, and exclusion of private investors and "dirty money". Only municipalities, cities or the state, via its companies, can act as investors in affordable housing, he said.
He added that it was the then-SDP government that allowed the state, under the 2013 Spatial Planning Act still in force, to expropriate local authorities in certain cases.