The minister made the statement when asked to comment on the European Commission's proposal to impose on Croatia a criterion for the implementation of regulations of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) concerning the purchase of real estate by foreign nationals.
"We are acting in line with the principle of reciprocity and are not discriminating against anybody. We have also simplified the procedure and foreign nationals buying real estate now only need the approval of the Justice Ministry. The Foreign Ministry is no longer involved in the process," the minister said.
She went on to say that the principle of reciprocity was being applied equally to all countries, including Italy, which has repeatedly accused Croatia of discriminating against Italian nationals buying real estate in Croatia.
She explained that countries did not regulate this matter with agreements, but were guided by the situation on the ground.
"Italy has provided us with new evidence on how things are going with the purchase of real estate by Croatian nationals in Italy, and we are considering it now," the minister said.
The EC has proposed two criteria for the opening of talks with Croatia on legislation regulating the free movement of capital, and the final decision on the matter will be made by the Council of the EU, diplomatic sources have said.
In its report on the screening of legislation on freedom of the movement of capital sent to the Council in late July, the EC proposed that Croatia be given two benchmarks for opening talks on that matter.
The first benchmark requires Croatia to draw up an action plan for the fight against money laundering, and the second refers to the implementation of regulations from the SAA referring to the purchase of real estate by foreign nationals.
Under Article 60 of the SAA Croatia is obliged to liberalise its real estate market for foreign nationals within three years from entry into force of the SAA, that is, until 2009. Until that time, foreign nationals have the right to acquire real estate in Croatia in line with the principle of reciprocity.