ZAGREB, March 19 (Hina) - Leaders of the parliamentary opposition have dismissed the proposal of Sabor President Vladimir Seks to change constitutional provisions about the powers of the president of the republic and the premier in
the field of foreign affairs, which, Seks believes, contain elements which may generate different interpretations of the foreign policy.
ZAGREB, March 19 (Hina) - Leaders of the parliamentary opposition have
dismissed the proposal of Sabor President Vladimir Seks to change
constitutional provisions about the powers of the president of the
republic and the premier in the field of foreign affairs, which, Seks
believes, contain elements which may generate different
interpretations of the foreign policy.#L#
Responding to the proposal, which Seks presented in an interview with
a Croatian daily, a senior official of the Social Democratic Party
(SDP), Mato Arlovic, described this as a blank shot, saying that Seks
was trying to make excuses for Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul's
statements in Israel by opening a new question.
Announcements that the Constitution may be amended are actually an act
of wagging one's finger at the head of state as he called Minister
Zuzul for talks because of his statements (in Israel), Arlovic said.
Arlovic also recalled that the ruling parliamentary majority did not
have the two-thirds majority of MPs on its side, which is necessary to
amend the Constitution. The SDP parliamentarian went on to say that
state institutions should cooperate in the implementation of the
foreign policy rather than exclude one another.
Vesna Pusic, the leader of the Croatian People's Party (HNS) and
Sabor's vice-president, said that relations between the president and
the government in the field of foreign affairs were clearly defined,
namely they were co-creators of that policy.
The problem in this case is not what falls under whose authority, but
the fact that there is not a single foreign policy, Pusic said.
A co-ordinating body should be established and the president should
convene it, Pusic said. This body should not exclude the parliament
and its duty would be to discuss the fundamental issues of Croatia's
foreign policy, she added.
A representative of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), Miroslav
Rozic, also does not see any reason to amend the Constitution,
particularly not in connection with authorities in foreign affairs.
It would be wiser for the government, in particular the foreign
minister, to be more careful when giving statements abroad, Rozic
said.
"The Constitution contains elements which could lead to different
interpretations of the foreign policy," Seks said in his interview in
Friday's Vecernji List, when asked if there was an open conflict
between the President (Stjepan Mesic) and the foreign ministry
following Zuzul's speech in Jerusalem and if the Constitution should
be amended so as to better define the implementation of the foreign
policy.
Under Article 98 of the Constitution, Croatia's President and
government cooperate in defining and implementing the foreign policy,
while under Article 112, the government is in charge of carrying out
the foreign policy. These ambiguities lead to situations which require
adjustments. Before making any decisions in foreign affairs, the
government and the head of state should reach agreement and coordinate
their moves, Seks said adding that this was an untenable situation
both for the president and the government.
He said that during the process of adoption of the last amendments to
the Constitution he had warned that such provisions would cause
discrepancies between, for instance, the president and the government
in the creation and implementation of the foreign policy. Seks
therefore advised changing those sections of the Constitution so as to
precisely define the role, authorities and duties of the president and
the government in the area of foreign affairs.
(Hina) ms sb