Addressing the parliament on this topic on Friday, the minister asked MPs to turn down a motion by the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) to bind Croatian representatives in the Council for Stabilisation and Association to refuse limits on the Croatian export to the EU market. The HSP claims that possible restrictions will be against Croatia's economic interest and may cause damage of hundreds of millions of euros annually.
Dismissing the HSP's claims, Cobankovic said the loss could not be over one hundred million given that the entire export of sugar from Croatia to the EU reaches some 100 million euros annually.
He admitted that the European Commission had launched an initiative to open negotiations with Zagreb on introducing quotas for sugar export, which means that negotiations should be held on changing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between Croatia and the EU, which went into force earlier this year.
Tonci Tadic of the HSP insisted that the Croatian authorities should stick to the SAA which mentions no quotas on sugar export, and that this document must be the only framework for Croatia's communication with the EU until the country joins the Union.
During a parliamentary debate on the matter, Neven Mimica of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) also suggested that Croatia should not accept amendments to the SAA. In case quotas are introduced, Croatia should not accept anything below 240,000 tonnes of sugar exported annually with trade compensations, Mimica said.
Later in the day during the voting, parliamentarians turned down the HSP motion by a majority of votes.
The Sabor endorsed a 2004 report by the council for the regulation of energy sector activities, as well as a report on programmes and financial results of the Croatian Olympic Committee (HOO) for last year.
The parliament will resume its 16th session on Wednesday.