ZAGREB, June 28 (Hina) - The Croatian parliament on Friday refused with a majority vote a proposal by the Croatian Party of Rights/Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HSP/HKDU) bench that a debate on the ratification of a
Croatian-Slovene agreement on the nuclear power plant Krsko be removed from the agenda.
ZAGREB, June 28 (Hina) - The Croatian parliament on Friday refused
with a majority vote a proposal by the Croatian Party of
Rights/Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HSP/HKDU) bench that a
debate on the ratification of a Croatian-Slovene agreement on the
nuclear power plant Krsko be removed from the agenda. #L#
The proposal was refused with a narrow majority: 49 deputies of the
HSP, the HKDU, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), and the
Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) voted for removing the
ratification of the agreement from the agenda.
Representatives of the ruling coalition, without HSLS deputies,
kept the ratification of the agreement on the agenda with 54 votes
in favour.
The vote on the proposal was preceded by breaks which the HDZ and
HSP/HKDU benches requested in order to take a stand on the
ratification of the document.
HDZ's Vladimir Seks accused Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) deputies
of trading party interests with the Social Democrats (SDP) within
the ruling coalition. He reminded that the HSS was against the
ratification of the agreement in the first reading. Quoting today's
newspapers, Seks said the SDP and the HSS were trading "wheat for
the nuclear power plant".
Parliament President and HSS leader Zlatko Tomcic protested
against Seks's claims, while HSS's Luka Trconic said he dismissed
"this nonsense with indignation".
The HDZ considers the ratification of the agreement contentious,
claiming the agreement is not acceptable to Slovenia either, since
the Slovene parliament moved its ratification from the agenda until
the Slovene Constitutional Court makes a ruling on the matter. The
Court was to decide about it yesterday, but the session was
postponed.
Seks said it was below national dignity to accept the agreement
which he described as degrading and unacceptable even to the other
side.
The HDZ says it is unacceptable that the agreement does not define
the issue of ownership over the plant and that Slovenia will be
making key decisions regarding the plant's management, which it
claimed for itself with a unilateral decision.
Croatia invested around USD 300-500 million in the plant and under
the agreement it is expected to take over the costs of Krsko's
dismantling, which are estimated at up to USD 500 million.
Anto Djapic of the HSP/HKDU bench reminded that the HSP had filed a
complaint over Krsko to the Constitutional Court, adding the
parliament should vote about it with a two-thirds majority.
SDP's Mato Arlovic, chairman of the Committee on the Constitution,
Rule Book, and Political System, apologised to Slovenia for
opposition deputies having presented false legal data.
He said, among else, that the agreement to be ratified recognised
Croatia's role as a co-investor in the plant, probably more than
Slovenia's.
It is meaningless to contest the debate about the ratification in
the Croatian parliament just because the Slovene parliament
postponed its debate on the issue, he said.
(hina) rml sb