Zagreb - Croatian Parliament members will continue working on Wednesday after a month-long winter break, with the new, fifth session, to last until early April, kicking off with the traditional Question Time and questions to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and ministers.
Following questions to the prime minister and government ministers, MPs will discuss the PM's reports on EU summit meetings and meetings of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Council held in October and December 2024, and the EU-Western Balkans summit that took place on 18 December, 2024.
On Thursday, the Parliament will debate proposals to amend the law on voluntary pension funds and pension insurance companies, which the government has submitted for first reading.
Final amendments to the Law on Civil Servants and Employees in Local and Regional Self-Government will also be on the agenda. This legislation addresses the status issues of civil servants working in joint administrative bodies of units that have functionally merged. It also covers the possibility of remote work, part-time work, and the hiring or retention of pension beneficiaries under the age of 67. To prevent corruption, the law mandates the creation of a code of ethics and requires the signing of a declaration of no conflict of interest. Additionally, it regulates the passing of a state exam at the appropriate level.
No voting on Friday
There will be no voting on Friday, but MPs will engage in the first reading of amendments to the Law on the Implementation of EU Customs Legislation, as well as final amendments to the Law on the Implementation of the EU Regulation on Green Bonds and optional disclosures for bonds marketed as environmentally sustainable and for sustainability-linked bonds, which the government wants to be passed under fast-track procedure.
From next week until the Easter holidays, 11 April, the Parliament will hold sessions from Tuesday to Friday - working in three-week blocks followed by a week-long break for field work. A total of 98 items are to be discussed.
Additionally, a vote is pending on two items from the previous session. These are the Law on the Central Population Register, which will eliminate the need for a population census, and a decision on the participation of Croatian Armed Forces members in NATO's Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU) mission, specifically the sending of two Croatian officers to Wiesbaden, Germany.
"We will vote when the conditions are met," Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said last week regarding these two items.