ZAGREB, Feb 16 (Hina) - By the end of this year Croatia will get its first official population policy, the government's council in charge of drafting the policy announced at its session on Monday.
ZAGREB, Feb 16 (Hina) - By the end of this year Croatia will get its
first official population policy, the government's council in charge
of drafting the policy announced at its session on Monday.#L#
A draft policy is to be prepared by members of the council in one
month's time, and after that the government and parliament should
voice their opinion on the document.
We hope that parliament will reach a consensus on the document and
that it will become an obligation for all future parliaments and
governments, Deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, who is also the
minister of family and veterans' affairs and inter-generation
solidarity, said.
Alica Wertheimer Baletic, a member of the Croatian Academy of Arts and
Sciences, said that the principles of the Croatian population policy
should be the same as those of the international community and the
United Nations.
The number of the newborn babies should climb by 50 percent so that in
fifty years' time Croatia may have the same number of citizens it has
currently, demographer Jakov Gelo said. If the current trends
continue, the number of Croatians will fall by half in half a century,
he cautioned.
The above-mentioned council gathers different experts, including
demographers, doctors, unionists, employers, NGO representatives,
church dignitaries and so on.
(Hina) ms sb