Zagreb - Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković confirmed on Wednesday that as of 15 November, when the measures of the national COVID-19 crisis management team come into force, a COVID certificate or negative test would be needed to enter the Parliament.
Members of Parliament without a COVID certificate will be able to get tested, so if they test negative, they will be able to enter the building and participate in debates. Those who refuse to get tested and do not have a COVID certificate will not be allowed to attend the session, but will be able to join via video link, Jandroković told reporters after a meeting of the Parliament Presidency.
According to Jandroković, four groups of MPs will be able to join the session via video link, including those without a COVID certificate, those who do not want to get tested, those in self-isolation, and MPs who have certain medical conditions which their doctors have to confirm.
MPs that have a COVID certificate will not have the possibility of joining via video link.
Position of MPs already different
The position of MPs is already different from that of other employees, and some do not attend sessions regularly even now, which makes them privileged, the parliament speaker said in response to the question of whether the possibility of working online made MPs privileged compared to other employees.
In a situation when the epidemiological situation is deteriorating, we have sought a solution to protect lives and health on the one hand, and on the other hand we cannot prevent a member of the parliament chosen by the people from participating in the work of parliament, so a video link solves that problem, he said.
In the first phase, costs of testing will be borne by the state for MPs and for everyone else, but the location has not been determined yet.
MPs will still have to wear masks, except when speaking.
Call for citizens to get vaccinated
Asked whether the Parliament should be making decision and not the national COVID-19 crisis management team, Jandroković said that everything should stay as it is and that it was difficult to guess what the future might bring.
The Parliament Speaker called on citizens to get vaccinated, underscoring that inoculation, regardless of all objections, was the best measure in the fight against COVID, especially receiving the third dose.
He himself, he said, has recovered from coronavirus, received two doses, so he is not ready for the third yet, but as soon as he receives a doctor's recommendation, he will get vaccinated.
Jandroković announced that the Parliament would begin its next session on 25 November and would sit until 15 December.