CROATIA BEGINS ADJUSTING LEGISLATION TO EU STANDARDS

ZAGREB, May 15 (Hina) - Croatia's parliament began adjusting domestic legislation to that of the European Union, a commitment the country assumed by signing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, on Thursday by debating a government-sponsored market competition bill. #L# The bill, the first of 83 laws and decisions from the "European package", was endorsed by benches of the Social Democrats (SDP), the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), and the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), which said it was crucial for the development of entrepreneurial and market freedoms. The bill envisages measures regulating the protection of market competition, i.e. "healthy" competition on the market in case a market match of equal conditions is prevented, limited or disrupted. The implementation of the law would be supervised by the Market Competition Agency, which would be managed by a seven-member council which, under the government's bill, must secure entrepreneurial and market freedoms for every businessman. The SDP bench sees the biggest law-related change in the Agency because in the future it will have the greatest influence in supervising market competition. Luka Roic of the HSS spoke about the current situation on the Croatian market, saying everybody did not have an equal opportunity. He said that many established companies, from telecommunications to shipbuilding, had ties with the most senior state officials, including local ones. This plays in their favour more than would be possible if market conditions were normal, he said. Nikica Valentic of the HDZ said by-laws should more clearly regulate the potentially large concentration of capital. He said this was especially important for banks and the entire financial sector where, despite positive headway thanks to the arrival of foreign banks, especially in regulating interest rates, there was a danger of bank monopoly. (hina) ha sb