Zagreb - Members of parliament on Wednesday held a debate on amendments to the Competition Act and supported strengthening the role of the Croatian Competition Agency (AZTN).
The amendments align Croatian competition legislation with an EU directive, expands and strengthens the role of the Agency and introduces new legal institutes, such as mandatory talks, daily fines, and settlements in procedures for establishing prohibited agreements.
Protecting competition creates equal conditions for all participants in the market and it is in the interest of consumers and entrepreneurs as it ensures better supply and quality and lower prices of services, MPs said in the debate, supporting the bill.
Miro Bulj (Bridge) said that it was important to encourage competition but that it was also important that the state-protected certain domestic producers.
"Competition is good, but certain things must be protected -- water, forests, agricultural production," Bulj said, citing Germany as an example of a country that protected its car industry.
Željko Lenart (HSS) expressed doubt as to whether the Competition Agency would be independent, as stated in the law.
"Our Constitutional Court is not independent, police are not independent, the television isn't either, the judiciary is not independent so how can we expect that the agency will be independent. I don't believe in that story," Lenart said.
The bill defines the AZTN as a general, national regulatory body responsible for the protection of competition on all markets.