Sanader: Government is preparing new measures if necessary

A coalition meeting was held at the government offices, where fuel prices and the impact of the war in the Middle East on the energy sector were among the main topics of discussion. The coalition partners also gathered on the occasion of the start of a new parliamentary session tomorrow.

Ante Sanader, president of the HDZ parliamentary group, said after the meeting that the main issue at the meeting was the energy situation and the war in the Middle East. He stressed that the Government will continue to work on reducing fuel prices if the situation requires it.

“We will see what the situation will be with the war and the energy crisis. We all want the war to end. We see both good and bad signals, so no one can say for sure at this point what will happen tomorrow with the war in the Middle East, and consequently with the energy crisis,” he said.

"The Government is preparing new measures if necessary"

“The Government stands behind its citizens and is preparing new measures if necessary. Hypothetically, if the situation gets worse, we have new solutions. We are also talking to the European Commission, and solutions are being sought from them, because this is not just a Croatian problem, this is a problem for the whole world, and the European Community is also taking care of it,” said Sanader.

We are satisfied, Sanader emphasized, that our prices are still among the lowest in the region and the European Union. This was also discussed at the session of the governing parliamentary majority.

"HSS becomes a member of the governing coalition"

Sanader was also asked by reporters about the new president of the HSS who became a member of the governing majority.

“This is the decision of the HSS. We are satisfied that the HSS has returned to the fold of our right-wing center, and their wish is to once again become a member of the European People's Party, which the HDZ will absolutely support and help to ensure that this remains the case and that it remains a long-term partnership, as it was in the past,” said Sanader.

Sanader urged traders not to raise prices

Responding to journalists' questions regarding the information that Croatia was the first in the Eurozone in terms of inflation last month, Sanader urged retailers not to raise prices. “The government is doing everything,” he said, “to lower prices.” He pointed out that with the latest package of measures, the government helped farmers, fishermen, the economy, students, and especially the most vulnerable. It influenced the fact that the price of electricity and gas does not increase.

Election of judges of the Constitutional Court

Speaking about the fact that an agreement has not yet been reached on the three judges of the Constitutional Court, Sanader expressed his desire for the talks on this issue to continue. “This week, there will be a session of the Parliamentary Committee for the Constitution, Rules of Procedure and the Political System and we will try to find a solution there,” he added.

He said that he was calling on the SDP to return to negotiations.

“The importance of the Constitutional Court is too great for someone to throw away their whims and block the discussion on the election of Constitutional Court judges,” said Sanader.

Vičević: New parliamentary session until July 15th

“The Prime Minister and ministers will face a Q&A session tomorrow, during which 39 parliamentary questions will be asked. The opposition announced that the topics will include the economy, price increases, fuel prices, but also the fact that Croatia is in first place in terms of the inflation rate in the Eurozone,” said Croatian Television journalist Šime Vičević.

On the other hand, the main trump card of the Government, as they say, is limiting fuel prices among the first countries in the European Union, but also passing a spring package of measures that guarantee the same prices for electricity and gas by the beginning of October.

The new parliamentary session will last until July 15. Already these days, the main parliamentary focus will be the Constitutional Court, because the mandate of three constitutional judges expires this Sunday. It is difficult at this moment to assess whether it is possible to reach any agreement or progress between the governing majority and opposition, because the HDZ has been advocating for months that constitutional judges should be elected in a process related to the election of the President of the Supreme Court, while the opposition explicitly does not want to agree to such a model.

The governing majority enters the new parliamentary session, which will last until mid-July, with one more MP, a 79th. This will be the president of the HSS and the new HSS MP, Darko Vuletić, who is entering the Parliament instead of Krešo Beljak. As things stand, a new parliamentary caucus could be formed with Boško Ban and Dario Zurovec.

“They will probably focus on the affair related to skiing and the Ski Association. That could dominate,” said Dario Zurovec when talking about what the coalition partners expect from the new session of Parliament. He added that fuel prices, inflation and other current affairs could also be discussed.

Hrvoje Zekanović (HDS) said that he expected the opposition MPs to try to discredit the Government with questions and then added that the opposition would get the answers it deserves.

“As for Mr. Vuletić, I am glad to see him, especially since he is very pleasant on the phone, so I hope we can have coffee,” added Zurovec.

“The governing majority is comfortable and, as I have emphasized many times, it will continue to govern Croatia in this composition in the next period, that is, until the next regular parliamentary elections,” emphasized Zekanović.

Source: HRT