HDZ BELIEVES PARTIES WILL REACH CONSENSUS ON ELECTORAL MODEL

ZAGREB, April 16 (Hina) - Spokesman of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) Ivica Ropus on Friday said he expected parliamentary parties to reach a high level of consent on the future electoral law. At a regular party press conference, Ropus expressed satisfaction about talks on the future electoral model which started on Thursday. He believed that the talks would result with a 90 per cent consensus. Also speaking at the conference were the newly appointed Justice Minister Zvonimir Separovic and Tourism Minister Ivan Herak. They pledged to focus their tasks to improving the situation in their relevant ministries. Separovic advocated the rule of law, safety of citizens before courts, and justice. Separovic said the Croatian justice system was facing difficulties and added the number of cases was increasing, there was a deficiency of judges, and courts were faced with a backlog and were overburdened. The newly appointed minister advocated an increase in the number of judges and the adoption of legal provisions which would relieve the courts and increase the level of expertise. He said he believed Croatia should continue to cooperate with the Hague Tribunal, but at the same time it should consider the interests and expectations of victims of aggression. Minister Herak said the appointment came at a very delicate moment. He said difficulties in tourism was a consequence of the former system which left behind an obsolete technology, mass and undifferentiated tourist offer and infrastructure. Herak said that tourism was one of Croatian economy's fundamental branches. Herak said that the drafting of a marketing strategy, improvement of macroeconomic surroundings and the development of environmental awareness were priorities in his duty. (hina) it jn/lml