Representatives of Croatian parliamentary groups on Tuesday failed to reach a concrete agreement on which items should be discussed and voted towards the end of the ongoing session of the sixth parliament (Sabor) but they decided to set up a task force in charge of resolving contentious matters which were the reason why the parliament was left without a quorum to vote on some of the items last Friday.
After today's session of the parliament's presidency with parliamentary groups' representatives, Sabor Speaker Luka Bebic told reporters that parliamentary groups' representatives had tried to find common ground for the resumption of the parliamentary session and for the selection of items to be voted on before the dissolution of the parliament ahead of the forthcoming election.
It has been agreed that the parliament should make decisions on the interim budget for the first quarter of 2012, on five European Union-related laws, a declaration on European values and on the dissolution of the parliament, Bebic said.
According to Bebic, the task force should decide on other items to be added to the agenda by Thursday, apart from the eight items on which parliamentary parties reached agreement today.
Refusing speculations on whether his Croatian Democratic Party (HDZ) will manage to secure a quorum for laws which the Opposition does not want to be voted on, Bebic said that it was important to him that everybody participated in the parliament's work and to see to it that the parliament wrapped up its work in a dignified manner.
Milorad Pupovac of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), a junior partner in the ruling coalition, said today that he expected a compromise, adding that it was up to the task force to define the agenda and see which items would be put to the vote by the parliament's dissolution.
The task force consists of Pupovac and Andrija Hebrang of the HDZ as representatives of the parliament's majority, and of Milanka Opacic of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Vesna Pusic of the Croatian People's Party/Croatian Pensioners' Party (HNS/HSU) club of deputies as representatives of the Opposition.
Hebrang said that he would propose to the task force to see to it that the parliament adopt another six European laws, sent from the last governmental session, and a law regulating the relations between Croatia, Croatian expatriates and ethnic Croats living in other countries.
"We will be wiser tomorrow after a meeting (of the task force)," Hebrang told reporters, adding that the HDZ still counted on 77 hands in the Sabor.
