Under the amendments, the law would no longer envisage regulating compensation with bilateral agreements, and the right to compensation would be granted to foreign nationals whose property in Croatia was confiscated during communist rule and who have not been compensated under previous agreements with the former Yugoslavia, a source close to the government told Hina.
This would eliminate the need for regulating the issue through bilateral agreements, including one concluded recently with Austria, which grants ethnic Germans who acquired Austrian citizenship after fleeing Yugoslavia a right to claim back their property or be compensated.
The amended law would apply not only to Austrians, but also to Jews, Americans and other ethnic groups that have not been compensated so far under previous agreements signed by the former Yugoslavia or under bilateral agreements.
Facts necessary for the adoption of the amendments are being established and as soon as they are established the amendments will be sent to parliament for debate, the source said, adding that the amendments had been formulated in cooperation with President Stjepan Mesic.
A Croatian weekly has reported that the government could settle the issue of compensation for confiscated property by changing the existing law and decide not to send its deal with Austria to parliament for ratification.
The agreement initialled between Croatia and Austria has provoked stormy reactions in Croatia, with President Mesic calling it a dangerous precedent which will not affect only Croatia.
According to data from the Justice Ministry, since 1991 foreign nationals have filed 4,211 claims for the return of property and it is estimated that 756.8 million kuna would be paid as compensation over a period of 20 years.