Croatia's strongest opposition party, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), said on Sunday that "unauthorised surveillance of senior officials of the intelligence community is an unprecedented and gross violation of the national security system."
"Although there are many speculations, the motive for such unacceptable and illegal action is not clear at the moment, so we do not want to take this situation as an opportunity to settle political scores. All the more so because a case like this, at this critical juncture for the country's accession to the European Union, can cause huge damage to the Republic of Croatia," the party said in a statement.
The statement followed the publication of an article in Vecernji List daily on Sunday saying that the police had illegally monitored chiefs of the security and intelligence services and members of the Todoric family, the owner of the Agrokor food company.
The HDZ demanded that President Ivo Josipovic and Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic immediately declare their views of the matter and convene an urgent session of the National Security Council.
HDZ leader Tomislav Karamarko will declare his position only after the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister do so and after it is clear to what extent the country's security system was breached, the statement said.
