Zagreb - Parliament on Friday voted for the postponement of the population census, which was originally set for the spring but will now be conducted in the autumn.
The government decided to postpone the census due to the epidemiological situation caused by COVID-19 and the plan is to conduct the census in two phases, from 13 September to 17 October. The first phase will involve online registration by citizens while the second will involve census takers conducting personal interviews with citizens.
If for some reason the census cannot be conducted then, the Government will adopt another decision and set a new schedule.
The parliament also adopted a law on the establishment of a Defence and Security University, to be located in Zagreb and named after late president Franjo Tuđman.
The university will be an institution of higher education and research and it will enable the education of future army officers as well as employees in other institutions whose scope of activities is connected with homeland security.
MPs unanimously supported a bill envisaging an accelerated pension plan for disabled persons suffering from grave diseases.
Lawmakers demand that seeds bill be withdrawn from procedure
A seeds bill was sent to a second reading. Bridge MP Miro Bulj once again called for the bill to be withdrawn, saying that it would be "the last nail in the coffin for Croatia's agriculture."
Sovereignist MP Hrvoje Zekanović said that this was an attack on Croatian farmers and that the bill was favouring foreign seed producers.
MP Krešo Beljak (HSS) said that Croatia was being turned into a colony for global corporations while MP Rada Borić of the Green-Left caucus said the bill would cause a hike in food prices.