BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO. 5336

ZAGREB, June 2 (Hina) - The Croatian government on Wednesday forwardedto parliament an annex to a decision on the expansion of Croatia'sjurisdiction in the Adriatic which proposes postponing theproclamation of an ecological and fishing zone until Croatia and theEuropean Community have signed an agreement on partnership infisheries. The Croatian parliament on Wednesday morningstarted debating the government's proposal that the two percentreduction of the VAT rate (from 22 to 20 percent) be postponed.During the debate members of the incumbent and former governmentsexchanged accusations over the VAT rate. The only issue parliamentary clubs of deputiesagreed on Wednesday morning was that before debating the government'sproposal to postpone the reduction of VAT, MPs should hear a report onthe computing of the national budget for 2003. The Croatian parliament on Wednesday debated areport on the execution of last year's national budget, w