Sea Minister Bozidar Kalmeta explained that the amendment eliminated the possibility of privatising Jadrolinija without the parliament's consent, and that the amendment took into account most objections by opposition MPs, seamen's unions and shipping companies.
The law, which is aimed at protecting national shipping companies and improving links between islands and the mainland and navigation safety, also contains an amendment annulling a previous regulation allowing the granting of a concession to a foreign shipping company in case when there are no interested domestic shipping companies.
The parliament also accepted an amendment preventing foreign nationals from applying for positions of crew members and regulating that crew members be Croatian nationals with signed work contracts with the shipping company.
The parliament passed amendments to the Law on Islands granting the state, counties and municipalities pre-emption rights regarding the purchase of Croatian islands, where there will be a ban on the import and breeding of wild animals which do not normally inhabit those islands.
To protect islands, notably small and uninhabited ones, from uncontrolled sale to foreign nationals, the parliament amended the law to determine which islands are of special state interest and for which the state and local and regional authorities will have pre-emption rights.
Under the amended law, the owner of such an island will have to offer his property for sale to the state first, and then to a town or municipality. If the state, a town or municipality are not interested in buying the island, it may be offered for sale on the market at a price which must not be lower than the price offered to the state.
The parliament also ratified an agreement under which the seat of the International Commission for the Sava River Basin will be in Zagreb, as well as amendments to the Protocol on the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land-based Sources.
The parliament almost unanimously voted a decision to mark February 15 as the national day of children suffering from malignant diseases.
The parliament will continue its 19th session next week.