The amendments to the Law on Ownership and other Real Rights ensure a simpler procedure for foreign nationals buying real estate in Croatia. In the future, they will need only the approval of the Justice Ministry and will no longer have to seek the consent of the Foreign Ministry.
Under the amendments to the Law on Expropriation, the institute of expropriation will be applied only on the basis of physical plans.
Apart from state interests, expropriation will also be possible to implement if a competent local self-government body determines that it will benefit the common well-being.
Under the amendments, the party requesting expropriation will no longer have to pay compensation to the previous owner for an illegally built facility.
The state secretary at the Justice Ministry, Snjezana Bagic, dismissed claims by the opposition that by adopting amendments to the Law on Ownership and other Real Rights the government was opening up the real estate market to foreign nationals.
Bagic said that the real estate market was not being liberalised, since foreign nationals would acquire real estate under the same conditions as Croatian nationals, but that the amendments were aimed at removing red tape.
She recalled that under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement Croatia had pledged to gradually adjust its real estate market to enable foreign nationals to buy real estate under the same conditions as Croatians as of 2009.
The Sabor passed laws on the establishment of a Foundation of Homeland War Veterans and a fund for scholarships for war veterans and their children.
The parliament passed a law on the Mountain Rescue Service integrating the service into the single national system of protection and rescue operations.
It sent into the second reading a set of health bills, a bill of amendments to the Law on the Croatian National Bank, and bills on weapons and education of adults.
The Sabor confirmed several reports, including the annual HNB report for 2005, and the 2005 report on the work of HINA's Steering Council.
The parliament also entrusted the government to consider the possibility of connecting Hina's data base Eva with the news base of the Vjesnik daily.