CROATIAN UPPER HOUSE ENDS 29TH SESSION

ZAGREB, May 25 (Hina) - The Croatian National Parliament house of Counties on Tuesday supported the bill on telecommunications. If Croatia wishes to enter the World Trade Organisation, it must liberalise the market of telecommunications services by the year 2003, in line with the fourth WTO protocol, and harmonise its legislature with that of the European union, Assistance Maritime Affairs, Transport and telecommunications Minister Dominik Filipovic said. The las on telecommunications is taking the same road, determining the procedures and norms of liberalising telecommunications services. The draft law envisages the cancellation of a monopoly in the telephone network, primarily the mobile phone network, and then the fixed network, Filipovic said. MPs also supported a suggestion by the Croatian Democratic Union (HD) party bench president Vladimir Seks about amendments to the criminal law, which stipulates that persons amnestied based on the Amnesty Act should not have the right to compensation for the time spent in prison, to which unjustly arrested persons have a right. The Upper House ended its 29th session Tuesday. (hina) lml jn