Grabar Kitarovic was responding to the claim by Party of Rights (HSP) deputy Pero Kovacevic that the government-sponsored plans for the adjustment of national legislation to EU standards contained elements that were not part of the EU legislation, but were demands from the European Commission and "acts of blackmail by some EU members such as Italy and Slovenia".
The minister dismissed claims by opposition deputies about the government's irresponsible planning of the pace of adjustment of national legislation to EU standards, saying that last year was dedicated to an in-depth analysis of the degree of adjustment of Croatia's legislation to EU standards in individual areas.
Only when the results of adjustment for the remaining policy chapters arrive will it be clear what has been accomplished and what is yet to be done in the adjustment of regulations to the EU acquis communautaire, the minister said.
She added that Croatia expected the remaining results in the first quarter of this year.
Responding to Social Democrat Neven Mimica's statement that the government should propose a plan of legislative adjustment covering more than one year, the minister said that such a plan could pose a problem for Croatian negotiators who would seek transitional periods for the adjustment of some policy chapters.
"We have to be careful in planning the dynamic of the process so as not to lose some battles in advance," she added.
The Opposition also urged the government to carry out an analysis of the effects of legislative adjustment, to which Grabar Kitarovic said that such an analysis had been commissioned for the tourism sector and that the financial and legal effects of every adjusted law would be fully analysed by July.