The strategy envisages ongoing financial control, independent internal auditors who would be directly responsible to the relevant minister or the head of the relevant state administration body, and establishing a Central Harmonisation Unit.
Effective internal financial control in the public sector is expected to produce positive results already after a year in ensuring better spending and a more effective and cheaper state administration, Finance Minister Ivan Suker said.
Suker said that the purpose of internal financial control was to improve work and prevent mismanagement of taxpayers' money.
An internal financial control pilot project will be implemented in three government departments -- health, agriculture and European integration.
The project is already under way in the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. Health Minister Andrija Hebrang said he believed that at least 10 per cent of funds would be saved with the implementation of the project.
The government also adopted a plan to implement an information and communication technology strategy until the end of the year and decided to set up a National Information Society Council.
The government heard a report on negotiations between Croatia and the European Community aimed at concluding a framework agreement on the general principles of Croatia's participation in Community programmes.
The government put forward a bill to the Parliament requesting permission to regulate certain issues within the Parliament's purview when the Parliament is not in session, notably from December 15, 2004 to January 15, 2005 and from July 15 to September 15, 2005.
According to the existing law, the government's authority to pass decree-laws expires on October 10 this year.