ZAGREB, March 20 (Hina) - The Croatian parliament on Wednesday wrapped up a debate about a draft government anti-corruption programme with an action plan, which is to be voted on at the beginning of tomorrow's parliamentary
session.
ZAGREB, March 20 (Hina) - The Croatian parliament on Wednesday
wrapped up a debate about a draft government anti-corruption
programme with an action plan, which is to be voted on at the
beginning of tomorrow's parliamentary session. #L#
A debate among party benches, during which the Social Democratic
Party, Croatian People's Party and the Croatian Peasants' Party
supported the draft, while the Croatian Democratic Union and the
Croatian Party of Rights/Croatian Christian Democratic Union bench
opposed it, was followed by individual debates, marked by mutual
accusations about which authorities - the current or the former
ones, led by the HDZ - were more corrupt.
The HDZ objected that the coalition had made the citizens trust
state institutions even less, which, it claimed, was why the
citizens believed state institutions were corrupt.
Representatives of the ruling coalition responded that the current
authorities, unlike the former ones, had still managed to curb
corruption in society and improve Croatia's tarnished image
abroad.
The debate was closed by Justice Minister Ingrid Anticevic
Marinovic, who said the programme was a good precondition for the
fight against corruption on the state level.
Despite opposition to the programme by the Opposition, the minister
said the debate showed that nobody was indifferent to corruption
and that there was general determination to participate in the
anti-corruption struggle.
Marinovic believes it is essential to adopt a law preventing a
conflict of interest so that state officials set an example in the
fight against corruption. She promised to urge the government to
send the bill into parliamentary procedure as soon as possible.
(hina) sb rml