ZAGREB, Sept 20 (Hina) - The measures which the government proposed for the national family policy, were criticised by parliamentary benches in the Sabor due to a lack of defined time terms for their implementation.
ZAGREB, Sept 20 (Hina) - The measures which the government proposed
for the national family policy, were criticised by parliamentary
benches in the Sabor due to a lack of defined time terms for their
implementation. #L#
Most benches supported the government's proposal, and assessed
them as good, such is, for instance, a proposal that families with
children should be offered 50-percent lower housing loans and tax
relief.
The benches, however, pointed to the government's failure to define
the deadlines for the start and implementation of those measures.
Benches of the opposition Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and of
ruling Croatian Peasants Party (HSS) and Liberal Party (LS)
expressed doubt that the government would succeed in implementing
measures because of a lack of funds in the budget.
These benches described unemployment as the biggest obstacle for a
successful family policy.
The opposition HDZ announced its MPs would abstain from voting on
the government's measures, given that the new programme failed to
include a proposal on increasing child-birth allowances to their
level from 2000. This is on which the HDZ has insisted since the
ruling coalition came in power.
The strongest opposition party claims that since then the Croatian
birth-rate, which was already poor, considerably fell so that the
number of the born children in 2001 dropped by 2,753 in comparison
to 2000.
The HDZ warns of worrying forecasts of experts who assess that the
Croatian birth-rate would drop by 30 percent.
The HDZ says that it is unacceptable to legalise an initiative for
homosexual marriages, and that an initiative for decriminalisation
of possession of drugs should not be covered by the family policy.
(hina) ms sb