ZAGREB, April 10 (Hina) - The Croatian government did not accept a request by the opposition to restrict reasons on the basis of which a person is granted asylum and insisted on solutions which it claims are in line with European
Union regulations.
ZAGREB, April 10 (Hina) - The Croatian government did not accept a
request by the opposition to restrict reasons on the basis of which
a person is granted asylum and insisted on solutions which it claims
are in line with European Union regulations. #L#
The right to asylum would be granted to a foreigner who does not or
cannot return to his country of origin because he/she fears
persecution on racial, religious, ethnic, social or political
grounds.
The same right would be granted to a person who does not have
citizenship and is outside the country of his/her previous
residence and cannot or does not want to return to that country due
to fear.
Some opposition deputies in the parliament requested that reasons
for granting asylum be restricted stating that the proposed
solutions were too liberal and could be abused. The government
nevertheless decided to stick by its original proposal and
forwarded the final bill on asylum into parliamentary procedure.
The government believes that the bill is in line with EU regulations
and obligations which Croatia took over last year within its
Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU. The bill is in
line with 19 international conventions, protocols, directives and
recommendations concerning refugee or asylum-seeker status.
Legal advisors of the European Commission's CARDS programme have
assessed the bill positively.
A reception centre for asylum-seekers would be set up outside
Zagreb with six-million-kuna-worth CARDS funds and four million
kuna from the Croatian budget.
A total of 13.3 million kuna of budgetary funds will be needed to
start implementing the asylum law, which should go into force on
January 1, 2004.
1 EUR = 7.52 kuna
(hina) rml