Sime Lucin of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) opposed the proposal to postpone until the next parliamentary elections the implementation of the regulation under which a representative of the largest opposition party would be appointed to the helm of the parliamentary committee on home affairs and national security.
Srecko Ferencek of the Croatian People's Party (HNS) too criticised the postponement of the regulation, wondering if the postponement meant that the ruling party was preparing itself to lose the elections and was saving the chairman seat for its representative.
Pero Kovacevic of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) said that in the past 15 years security and intelligence services had been an extension of politics, adding that intelligence officials were involved in a number of unsolved affairs.
He accused the heads of security and intelligence services of behaving in a James Bond fashion, recalling a recent case when the head of the Counter-Intelligence Agency in Rijeka was involved in a fight in a VIP box at a soccer match.
Ivan Jarnjak of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) said the opposition was criticising the incumbent government for being undemocratic, although during the coalition government term, the chairman and the deputy chairman of the national security committee were appointed from the ranks of the former government.
"As soon as the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) left the coalition government, you replaced the head of the committee and appointed your own member," Jarnjak said.
He said the government-sponsored legislation would open new windows of opportunity and give a new dimension to the work of security services. He added the new bill would create conditions for the safety of every citizen and the entire country.
The objective of the new law is to depoliticise intelligence services. Under the bill, the two present civil intelligence services - the Intelligence Agency and the Counter-Intelligence Agency - would be replaced by a Security and Intelligence Agency, while military intelligence would be conducted by a Military Security and Intelligence Agency.
The work of security and intelligence agencies would be supervised by the Parliament, the head of state, the Government, the Office of the National Security Council and the Council for the Civilian Supervision of Security and Intelligence Services.