PM Sanader: Fan Law Must Go to Urgent Procedure

ZAGREB, CROATIA - - If social partners do not reach an agreement on amendments to the Labour Law, the government will give up on its proposal – Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said in response to an accusation by MP Milanka Opacic who said that Vice-Premier Damir Polancec prevented members of parliament to discuss this important law at parliamentary committees. 

According to Sanader, there is agreement between social partners and the government that the law be passed in two phases. At this sitting, before the end of the sitting, the parliament will discuss the harmonisation of the law with European guidelines, while interest issues between the employers’ association and unions will be discussed in phase two, by the end of the year.

Prime Minister Sanader also gave up on urgent parliamentary procedure for the law on salaries of civil servants. Not, as he said, because of the reason MP Zeljka Antunovic gave that it spurred political dependence by officials, but because it is a big and good law that would increase their salaries.

The only law Prime Minister Sanader was adamant about entering urgent procedure is the Law on Football fans.

- We urgently need this law because in some 20 days the football championship begins and riots on stadiums should be prevented. If there is criticism about the violation of human rights, I suggest that the law be put in procedure for a revision after the championship – Sanader said.