Opening the event, held in the Croatian parliament, Suzana Jasic of GONG said that the final bill of amendments incorporated a majority of remarks and recommendations made over the recent years by civil society organisations, the Opposition, some of the government bodies, and European Union representatives.
Jasic said that the main proposal by civil society organisations to appoint an information commissioner had been turned down by the government due to austerity measures and that the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency would therefore be in charge of overseeing the enforcement of the right to information law.
Administration Ministry State Secretary Edmond Miletic said that the adoption of this bill was one of the preconditions for the provisional closing of the chapter on Judiciary and Fundamental Rights within Croatia's European Union accession negotiations.
Miletic said he believed that a high-quality bill had been drafted in cooperation with GONG and the nongovernmental sector.
Other participants in the round table debate said the bill of amendments was a step forward, but that there was still room for further improvement.