ZAGREB, Nov 22 (Hina) - The Croatian government on Thursday forwarded into parliamentary procedure the Agreement on Stabilisation and Association and the Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related issues for ratification.
ZAGREB, Nov 22 (Hina) - The Croatian government on Thursday
forwarded into parliamentary procedure the Agreement on
Stabilisation and Association and the Interim Agreement on trade
and trade-related issues for ratification. #L#
The government adopted at today's regular session draft bills on
the ratification of the SAA, the Interim Agreement, and the
implementation of the two documents.
All three bills have been sent into urgent parliamentary procedure
and will be discussed during the current parliamentary sitting.
Croatia and the European Union signed the Stabilisation and
Association Agreement and the Interim Agreement on trade and trade-
related issues on October 29. The SAA will go into force after it is
ratified by the Croatian parliament, the European Parliament and
the parliaments of the 15 EU states. To avoid waiting for the SAA to
be ratified before it can go into force, which could last up to two
years, an interim agreement on trade and trade-related issues was
signed, and this agreement will go in force on January 1 next year.
The government believes the ratification of the three legal acts
requires an outright and not a two-thirds majority, and explains
that the agreements do not transfer constitutional powers to any
supra-national institutions.
The government has also proposed that the parliament be fully in
charge of supervising the implementation of the SAA and the Interim
Agreement, and particularly the Council for Stabilisation and
Association and the Interim Committee.
The Stabilisation and Association Council and the Interim
Committee have the power to make decisions facilitating the
achievement of goals set by the SAA and the Interim Agreement.
There has been some speculation in the public that the two bodies
will have more powers than the parliament.
To dispel such fears, the Government has proposed that the stands of
Croatia's representatives in the two bodies be formulated in the
form of special decisions taken by the government. In making those
decisions the government may submit their drafts to the parliament
or a parliament working body to consider them and voice their
opinion.
(hina) sb rml