Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament (Sabor) at its new location, within the Croatian Military Academy "Dr. Franjo Tuđman", will be fully ready for the new session starting in a week on September 18, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Wednesday.
“This is a major undertaking; in just two months, we have created a new venue for the Croatian Parliament. Anything that might not be at the highest level initially, we will adjust and improve,” said Jandroković following the Parliament's Presidency meeting, thanking everyone involved in the move.
Parliament has moved from its previous location at St. Mark’s Square, where it occupied about 20,000 square meters, to a new space of 7,000 square meters, nearly three times smaller.
The central building now contains a plenary hall with 160 seats, though the layout is slightly different. It also includes four committee meeting rooms and offices for the six largest parliamentary groups: the HDZ, the SDP, Bridge, Homeland Movement, We Can!, and the National Minority Group. Smaller clubs have offices in a nearby yellow building, which also houses committee chairpersons' offices.
In total, there are 67 rooms across both buildings.
He explained that choosing this location within the military academy, rather than opting for commercial rental space, saved the state budget around €7.5 million over three years.
Adapting the building at the Croatian Military Academy has so far cost around €800,000, with the total expenses expected to reach slightly over €1 million.
Renovations of the Croatian Parliament building at St. Mark’s Square will take three years, with work set to begin in the next month or so. The total value of the renovation is estimated to exceed €70 million.
Over 90 items on the agenda
The agenda for the upcoming session currently includes 94 items, with more expected from the government and parliamentary groups.
Parliament members will work for six weeks, with the first three weeks running from Wednesday to Friday and the next three weeks from Tuesday to Friday. A break is planned from 25 October until All Saints' Day. For the rest of the year, sessions will follow a model of three weeks in session and one week of fieldwork for MPs.